Miscellaneous

Romancing with ‘Zindagi’

Zindagi March 16, 2021

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 […]

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Romancing the Stranger

Ajnabi February 19, 2021

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 […]

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Songs of Raja-Rani

Thumbnail image for Songs of Raja-Rani February 7, 2021

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 life […]

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Hans Akela: A song that stood tall amid the ruins

Hans Akela January 1, 2021

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 […]

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Mughals Engulf Bollywood

Bahadurshah Zafar November 7, 2020

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 […]

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Salt, pepper and foods

Salt, pepper and foods October 16, 2020

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 […]

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Ten years of Songs of Yore

Songs of Yore Ten Years June 7, 2020

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, […]

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Twins Phenomena In Bollywood

Ram Aur Shyam May 29, 2020

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 […]

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Songs and contra-songs

Songs and contra-songs May 10, 2020

When Peter Drucker wrote in 1986 that the world economy is not changing, it has already changed, “We are living in a changed world” became a fashionable jargon. His assertion was open to question, but Corona has changed the world in a very fundamental way. Someone said that in the human history whenever mankind faced […]

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Nayika Bhed in songs

Abhisarika Nayika March 8, 2020

Commemorating International Women’s Day (March 8) and wishing everyone a very Happy Holi The erudite readers of the SoY will be surprised to see a post on Nayika Bhed on the International Women’s Day (March 8), which commemorates the movement for women’s rights relating to equality etc. If you  look at Nayika Bhed from the […]

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