DP Rangan

Bollywood celebrates Deepavali

Wishing Happy Diwali with guest article by DP Rangan

(Readers are now used to seeing DP Rangan’s name as a guest author regularly.  He can write faster than I can schedule him on SoY. At any point of time I have a couple of his articles in my mail. I admire his amazing enthusiasm. I am happy to present another well-written article by him containing some rare vintage Diwali songs – impressive for someone whose first language is not Hindi.  Thank you Mr Rangan for this offering of Diwali songs. – AK)

DiwaliIndia, that is Bharat as it was known in ancient days, is populated by heterogeneous group of people following their own religion. Many religions like Buddhism, Jainism flourished at one time or the other, but disappeared over time with very few or none practicing it today. Hinduism is the predominant religion followed by the populace right from the Punjab in the North to Kanyakumari in the South. Despite difference in language and custom in the country, the basic tenets of Hinduism have remained the same and one could perceive a tenuous link among Hindus across the country. Again Hinduism is not a religion in the strict sense of the term, but a way of life amidst its followers. The basic tenets of life, i.e. creation, maintenance and destruction, are represented by the triumvirate of Gods and their consorts in the Hindu religion and there are numerous festivals in honour of them. That way all religions of the world have their own festivals. Hindus celebrate more festivals in a year compared to other religions. The major festival among them are Deepavali and Dussera. The present blog will confine itself to discussion of Deepavali, and the manner of its celebration in the country.

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Bacchus in Bollywood

Guest article by DP Rangan

(The intoxicating drink as elixir of life is a part of mythology in almost all cultures. Harivansh Rai ‘Bachchan’ said that while the world celebrates Holi and Diwali only once a year, दिन को होली रात दीवाली रोज़ मनाती मधुशाला. After galloping on the High Horse, riding the tonga, and romancing with moon and stars in the night, DP Rangan ventures into the delights and sorrows of drinking. I have described him as a seventy plus-going on-seventeen, which makes him short of the minimum legal age for drinking. But this is an age when a youthful heart is filled with forbidden thoughts. In this well-researched article, typical of him, he takes us through the mythology and history of liquor and some drunken songs of Bollywood. Thank you Mr Rangan for another nice article from your inexhaustible repertoire. – AK)

Dilip Kumar and MotilalHomo sapiens have been indulging in drinks from time immemorial. There are enough records in writing or stone carving to demonstrate this fact. Our religious literature talks of Aryans drinking somras after performing yagnas. Adverse effect on health of habitual drunkards did not deter them from indulgence. It came to be accepted as a consequential hazard. History is replete with instances of kings ruining themselves by excessive drinking and also destabilising their kingdoms due to negligence of proper administration leaving it in the hands of their incompetent or even villainous henchmen. The final sufferers were the common populace.

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Star showers in Bollywood

Guest article by DP Rangan

(Full Moon evokes poetry, beauty and romance.  One would think its converse, Dark Moon, must be very depressing.   But think again.  That is the time when the stars come out in full glory. As with the moon, stars, too, have evoked wonder, admiration and myths. We see our seven ancient great sages in the stars, known as Saptarshi. When a dear one passes away, we imagine he/she has become one of the stars in the sky.  Bollywood has also been inspired to create ‘Taare/Sitaare’ songs in great numbers. A Full Moon Night is followed 15 days later by the Dark Moon, or Amavasya, according to our Almanac.  No sooner had we been satiated by the Bollywood’s romance with the Moon, DP Rangan was ready with his ‘stars’ post.  On my suggestion he has cut out a great deal of astronomical details.  Having read his full article I can say he is not an amateur astronomer.  Mr Rangan has diligently covered every year of the 50s with some great selection of songs.  ‘Moon’ came on a Full Moon Day.  Today is Dark Moon, the best time to enjoy Mr Rangan’s dalliance with ‘taare’ and ‘sitaare’. Thank you Mr Rangan. – AK)

Chaand taareAnyone could jump to a conclusion that this post has something to do with the glittering actors of filmdom, particularly female of the species, popularly known as stars or actress. Such is not my intention. I will commence with my personal experience as a boy.

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Moon and Mumbai (Bollywood)

Guest article by DP Rangan

(After riding the high horse, Mr Rangan now explores the romance of moon.  I have earlier mentioned he is always bubbling with energy.   A seventy-plus going on seventeen, he is a great romantic – don’t be misled by his astronomical wanderings. This piece is another evidence of his zest for life.  Coincidentally, today is Full Moon day – the best time to enjoy this post written by a person young at heart. Thank you Mr Rangan.  – AK)

Moon songWhat is a moon one may wonder. Wikipedia will probably define it as a heavenly object going round a planet. It evolved either as a part of the original planetary system or a captured asteroid. Hubble telescope has identified numerous planets around stars in our galaxy. Probably many of these exoplanets may have their own moons. But, the present day technology is not adequate to confirm them. We are concerned more with our solar system where there are many more mysteries to be unraveled. The four gaseous giants – Jupiter (67), Saturn (62), Uranus (27) and Neptune (14) together have approximately 170 moons orbiting them. More moons could be discovered in future. Even the tiny Pluto, recently dethroned from the family of planets and downgraded, has 4 moons.

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Tonga in the Tinsel World

Guest article by DP Rangan

(DP Rangan has been a familiar figure in the comments section.  He recently debuted as a guest author with his piece on Bollywood’s love affair with horses.  I had introduced him as a member of the very senior brigade, who has the enthusiasm of a teenager.  The proof is this sequel to his last post.  He had planned to put the cart before the horse, but on my suggestion he has right-sequenced the order.  For someone whose first language is not Hindi, the collection of songs is absolutely impressive.  Thank you Mr Rangan for another outstanding piece. – AK)  

Tonga songI have written enough about the horses in my earlier post and how they are part and parcel of humans even in the present age of technological advancement. Encouraged by the response of the generous readers to my first effort at ‘writing’, I venture to write its sequel on their use in horse carts, or tongas. Horses continue to be yoked to carts and haul people and goods from place to place. Fortunately, horse carts have been phased out from almost all the metropolis and may be a rare sight in countryside too. I am happy to see them in partial liberation. I hope to see a reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln to free them in totality and ensure they roam in whatever little is left of the wild. Film producers, of late, are not incorporating such scenes in their films. It is only an educated guess as I have not been to a theatre for more than fifteen years and have rarely sat before the idiot box with the technical name of Television. I am a computer nerd and, while trawling through internet, chanced upon SoY and my life thereafter became topsy turvy. I saw many snippets of songs based on tonga/cart scenes and decided to present them to the followers of this blog.

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Bollywood’s love affair with Horse

Guest article by DP Rangan

(We started the New Year with our tiny friends – birds – introduced to us by a scholarly guest article by Shalan Lal. At the other end of the spectrum, the large species Horse has been even more integral to us through the history. And introducing these beautiful animals is this erudite article by DP Rangan through Bollywood’s love affair with the Horse.

Mr Rangan is a latecomer to the SoY, but he has made his presence felt by his active engagement and informative comments. He is diligently devouring the previous posts of SoY, and like Shalan writes to me long mails on various topics. From his mails I have gathered that after retirement from government service long ago he has become a globe trotter, spending time with his sons who are settled abroad and touching home in Delhi periodically. Well over seventy, he joins the senior brigade of SoY, but has the enthusiasm of a teenager. We are fortunate to have grand opening by two guest authors at the beginning of the year, and I am sure we are going to see many more from them. Welcome Mr Rangan formally at the top line and thanks a lot for this excellent piece. – AK)

Bachpan ke dinHorse is no stranger to us bipeds and its life is closely interwoven with that of humans. As an utilitarian they have no equals. They served mankind, albeit unwillingly as mounts, beasts of burden, plough draggers, stagecoach haulers, Victoria pullers, transporting royals and dignitaries to name a few.

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