We had thought we would try to forget 2020 as a bad dream. The pandemic last year for most of us was a piece of statistics, a news item. It would not affect us, we all thought. Suddenly in a span of the last few weeks its second wave has struck us as a mighty river in full fury after breaching a dam. Now it has reached our doorstep. Everyone knows of some close acquaintance whose dear one has gone through unimaginable medical crisis. Now clichés, such as ‘we would get over this’ sound like insensitive platitudes for those who have gone through personal tragedies.
Miscellaneous
Jogi, Bhogi or Dhongi
Wishing the readers and their families a very Happy Holi
Colloquial equivalents of Sanskrit terms usually retain their exact meaning, such as singaar for shringaar, barkha for varsha etc. But did you give a thought how in case of jogi, which is the Hindi equivalent of yogi, the connotation changes so drastically? As regards yogi, there is no doubt they are ascetics, detached from the world, engaged in their personal meditation and communion with the divine, in some cave in the Himalayas. “The Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramhans Yoganand, first published in 1946, is still regarded as a spiritual classic after 75 years.
Romancing with ‘Zindagi’
Dev Anand described his autobiography as ‘Romancing with Life’. He got to sing on the screen, Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya, Har fikr ko dhuyen mein udata chala gaya, embodying this philosophy. But he continued with his romantic hero image well into his 70s to the dismay of his fans. To me, he appeared as if he was not romancing with life, but with Dev Anand the screen star, who was long past his ‘Use before’-date.
Romancing the Stranger
For quite some time songs like Ajnabi, tum jaane pahchaane se lagte ho, and Kuchh ajanbi se aap hain, kuchh ajanbi se hum have been buzzing like bee in my head for an inexplicable reason. Then an incredible coincidence happened. One day I decided to browse through my books collected over the years that had not been touched, many of which are likely to remain unread. When I randomly opened a page of The Collected Poems of Vikram Seth, I came across this:
Songs of Raja-Rani
We all love historical films of Raja-Rani, even though their story does not have much to do with reality or history, except that they pertain to well-known historical figures set in a defined period in history. These films showed the grandeur of the palace and the royals’ life style. Sohrab Modi acquired larger than lifeREAD THE FULL ARTICLE
Hans Akela: A song that stood tall amid the ruins
Wishing the readers a very Happy New Year with guest article by Rahul Bhagwanrao Muli
(Rahul Bhagwanrao Muli is a familiar name for SoY regulars. He is one of the latecomers to the blog, having first discovered it in 2016 – the blog was started in 2010. But he has made a mark for his insightful comments, wit, easy command of language and interesting turn of phrase. An eminently suitable person to write a guest article. I am happy that he accepted my request to write one on a topic of his choice.
‘Ud jayega hans akela’ is a famous Nirgun bhajan of Kabir, which has become synonymous with Kumar Gandharva. We all leave this world alone. Similarly there are solitary songs from forgotten films or forgotten music directors that have achieved everlasting fame. Hindi film music would be poorer without these Hans Akelas.
Covid19 changed the world in many fundamental ways. The most important change it forced on us was to make us unlearn that the ‘Man is a social animal’. My post on ‘Songs and contra-songs’ was influenced a great deal by the raging pandemic. Its broad theme was suggested by Mr Muli, though long before anyone had heard of the new virus. It is befitting that he has chosen to write on ‘Hans Akela’ to herald the New Year. We all wish that the dark clouds disappear in the New Year and we don’t ‘have to be’ Hans Akelas, and we are back to our normal lives as we are used to.
Mr Muli is an MSc in Statistics and a trained Cost & Management Accountant (CMA). He has been a banker for a number of years, a faculty member at ICFAI, and has been now managing his own coaching institute for CA aspirants in Aurangabad.
Mr Muli’s debut article has everything you can expect from his pen. Thank you Mr Muli and welcome to the Guest Authors Club. – AK)
I believe that an average Indian has at least one of the following three traits: she or he is a Hindi Film buff, or a zealot cricket lover, or a disillusioned political analyst and I am no exception.
My journey with HFM started at the age of 7 years when I first listened to Aaasma ke neeche. Mine was a well-to-do family in a small town of Marathwada. In the late sixties, arrival of a new radio was no less than a festival for us. The seller had come to our house and was demonstrating the clarity of various stations. While surfing he hit upon this station where Aasma ke neeche was being played. He lingered over there for a moment and changed the station quickly, knowing very well that Vakil Saab (my father) abhorred Hindi films and songs. But the song had a lasting impression on me, and in the due course when I became aware that SD Burman was the composer, I became and still am his fan (a case of love at first sight).
Mughals Engulf Bollywood
Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to the Last Mughal Emporer Bahadur Shah Zafar II on his 158th Remembrance Day (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862)
(Mughal period has fascinated our film makers from the very early days – not to make ‘historical’ films as we understand by the term, but to weave tales of romance and legend, mostly apocryphal, in the backdrop of grandeur, opulent sets, colourful costumes, songs and dance, and flowery Urdu language. Even over 260 years of the de facto demise and 160 years of official end of the Mughal Empire has not dimmed the romance for the period.
When did the Mughal empire actually end? The real answer is it was a painful slow death for over a century, shrinking from a large swathe of Indian territory extending up to Afghanistan, to just Delhi, and finally the Lal Quila, at the time of the last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, who lived on the pension paid by the British. So we can say the empire ended with the arrest of the last emperor on 20 September 1857, after which he was exiled to Rangoon where he died on 7 November 1862. India was the crown jewel for the British, and too valuable to be left to the rule by the East India Company. If you want to be legalistic, the Queen’s Proclamation dated 1 November 1858 brought India under the direct Rule by the British Crown.
DP Rangan’s range of interest is amazing. From objects of nature, to variety of themes like cycle, tonga, horses, to film stars, now he writes on the films and songs around Mughal rulers. You may scoff at the authenticity of their history, but the songs the music directors created were everlasting. Mr Rangan selects some of the best songs for the post.
Bahdaur Shah Zafar was ‘technically’ the Last Mughal. Though only a nominal emperor, he fostered a multi-cultural and multi-religious society around him, and presided over a court having great Urdu poets like Zauq, Ghalib, Momin and Dagh. At a time fraught with inter-faith tension and mistrust, it is befitting to pay a tribute to him with this article on his 158th Remembrances Day. Thanks a lot Mr Rangan. – AK)
Indian subcontinent since time immemorial has had her belly exposed to all sorts of invaders through Khyber and Bolan pass. The petty kingdoms nestled around this vulnerable locality were too busy fighting each other, and failure to present a united front against aggressors from further North eventually cost them dear. This was checkmated during periods of great empires like Kanishka, Gupta and Harshvardhan. The power vacuum thereafter led to a resurgence of such invasions. Repeated invasion and retreats with booty led to colonization subsequently. Delhi sultanates were first such settlements ruling over a big territory in the North. With the proselytizing Islam as their creed they sought to swell their numbers from among the conquered people. A delicate balance prevailed between Islam and the native faith.
Salt, pepper and foods
Celebrating the World Food Day (16 October)
You would hardly find a dining table in homes or restaurants anywhere in the world which does not have salt and pepper shakers. Without salt and pepper the food would be without any taste. These have also acquired a venerable place in our history. ‘Namak Satyagrah’ or Dandi March (1930) was one of the three major movements launched by Gandhiji in India’s freedom struggle. The history of pepper is older than the history of India; there is archaeological evidence of people using pepper in 2000 BC in India. From here it went all over the world through trade from ancient times. Pepper also became a curse, because some European traders in pepper gradually became our rulers for about two centuries.
Ten years of Songs of Yore
When I started blogging a new buzzword had just come into vogue: Vision 2020. We all – whether in public, private or non-profit sectors – were rushing in and out of seminars, workshops and breakout rooms, to prepare a Vision 2020 document for our organisations in nice spiral-bound volumes containing Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Objectives, Tasks, Values, Weights and Weighted Scores. All this was Greek and Latin to me, I still don’t know whether Mission Statement came first or Vision Statement, and why. I was equally clueless about blogging, least of all how long it would last and what shape it would take. SoY completes ten years today and, coincidentally, we are in the year 2020. Even if I had attempted a Vision 2020 document for SoY, letting my imagination soar as in those documents, writing the most grandiose goals, I would not have been able to visualise what the blog is today.
Twins Phenomena In Bollywood
Guest article by DP Rangan
(The prolific guest writer DP Rangan now writes on the twins in Hindi films, some generic tropes of these films, and gives a selection of songs from some twin films. The highlight of this post is some great songs of the vintage era. This post too has been with me for quite some time. Mr Rangan has been quite understanding of the unavoidable delay in scheduling it. Thank you Mr Rangan for yet another nice post from your pen. – AK)
Four billion years after the formation of the Solar System, the first elementary form of life emerged. Over the next five billion years, life underwent steady transformation and became more and more complex and advanced. Survival of the fittest was the key element in ensuring continuation of species. Apotheosis was emergence of Human beings (Phylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia) as the last to arrive at the scene. There was no longer any need to have large broods of young ones for species continuation among human beings. Single birth was the norm and over a number of years, a human couple, male and female, brought forth several children, and despite partial infant mortality perpetuation of the race was ensured. Still there were odd instances of giving birth to twins, identical or fraternal. Identical were either male or female, while fraternal could be a male and female child. For this post we are concerned only with identical twins.