A tribute to old Hindi film music. Songs of the 30s through the 60s.

Miscellaneous

Asymmetric Duets

August 21, 2017

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal (I have often mentioned that duets, though far less in number than solo songs, present a fascinating variety of music. One variety is on account of the lesser known female singers getting a chance to sing with major playback singers like Rafi and Mukesh, and we are richer for that […]

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One hundred years of Sarat Chandra’s ‘Devdas’

June 30, 2017

Some time back, there was an interesting discussion between Ashok Kumar Tyagi and Hans about the story of Devdas and as to why Sanjay Leela Bhansali took so much liberties with it. I doubt if they realised that it was the centenary year of the publication of Sarat Chandra’s eponymous novel. Such coincidences have often happened […]

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Cycle trails of Bollywood

June 19, 2017

Guest article by DP Rangan (It is ironic that while bicycle is being crowded out by scooters, motorcycles and cars in the developing world, it is the developed world where bicycle riding is being promoted in a big way as a means of transport to commute to work or pleasure. A time may come when […]

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Songs of Yore completes seven years

June 7, 2017

Celebrating with some newly discovered gems and a tribute to Master Madan When I wrote on the sixth anniversary, I had been concerned by Gaddeswarupji’s ominous statistics that many promising blogs start losing steam in the sixth year. Seven years is ripe age for a blog. This is the stage when, I guess, a blogger […]

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Some unique good good songs

April 1, 2017

If you think there is a glaring mistake in the title of this post, you have to blame Mumbaikar8 for it. She only gave me the idea for this post. Don’t ask me what is her good name, please. If she is not disclosing it, I am also not disclosing it. As you know she […]

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“Whose father’s what goes?”

March 13, 2017

Wishing the readers a very Happy Holi with some songs of brazenness Once a casual acquaintance, but who had a way of showing great familiarity, visited me. He started discussing something very animatedly, every second sentence he would look at me intently and ask, “Whose father’s what goes? Isn’t it?” I didn’t know what to […]

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Hundreds of shades of Pyaar

February 14, 2017

Wishing the readers a very happy Valentine’s Day with guest article by Shalan Lal (Today on Valentine’s Day, love is in the air everywhere. Love of mushy messages; of roses and chocolates; of romance and togetherness. ‘Genre’-theorists hold that the concept of genre is not relevant for Indian films, as all our films are essentially […]

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Flowers bloom in Bollywood

February 5, 2017

Guest article by DP Rangan (Someone suggested a post on flower songs, Hans offered to compile a list of such songs, and our man of many flowers, the evergreen and eternal romantic, DP Rangan, offered to write a post. And here we are. Flowers are a common motif across cultures with a variety of associations – from […]

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Steam behemoth rides in Bollywood

Fairy Queen_World's oldest steam engine still running

January 1, 2017

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year with guest article by DP Rangan (Steam engines are everyone’s childhood romance. The billowing smoke, the speck of light becoming bigger, the strange rhythmic sound of the wheels clanking with the rails, and a gentle tremor as the train chugged into the station, were a source of wonder […]

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Songs of Angana

October 19, 2016

We have seen in the songs of atariya how its vantage location at the back of a house makes it an ideal secret meeting point for the lovers. Aangan or angana, i.e. courtyard, on the other hand, is a central feature of the house. Open to the sky, and surrounded on the four sides by […]

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