Best songs of 1955: Final Wrap Up 4

The SoY award for the best Music Director goes to?

Naushad-SD Burman-OP Nayyar-Shankar Jaikishan-C Ramchandra-NashadThis is like completing the circle, which means you come to the same point from where you started. So I look back at the mother post on the overview of the best songs of 1955  and I am amazed at the overwhelming response it generated, both in numbers and quality. As I said earlier, the methodology is not some kind of poll, but trying to capture the sense of the house. The SoY regulars would also recall that at the readers’ suggestions, I also wrote categoriwise summaries – Wrap Up 1 for the best male playback singer; Wrap Up 2 for the best female playback singer and Wrap Up 3 on the best duets. These are parts of the whole. Therefore, it is obvious that the final wrap up on the best music director would also draw a great deal from these subsidiary posts.  Here I am presenting the final wrap up of the string of posts that originated from the readers’ suggestions and which took shape as we moved on, as my Christmas and New Years Greetings to all.

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My favourite Lata Mangeshkar songs by C Ramchandra

Birthday greetings to Lata Mangeshkar on September 28

C Ramchandra-Lata MangeshkarPresenting my favourite Lata Mangeshkar songs composed by C Ramchandra, as my birthday greetings to her on September 28, is not a very diplomatic thing to do, given the history of their relationship. As her biographical accounts go, Lata Mangeshkar was more than a muse to C Ramchandra, and central to his music. But when the relationship turned sour, its repudiation (by her) was ruthless and complete. When she gave her famed public performance of Ae mere watan ke logo at Lal Quila on the Republic Day 1963, which brought tears to Nehru’s eyes, its lyricist Pradeep was acknowledged, but its composer C Ramchandra was not. (Note: Please also see comments 49, 51, 52, 54). When in 1967 Lata Mangeshkar selected her best 10 songs for HMV, she did not include any song by C Ramchandra, but her by then favourite boys Laxmikant Pyarelal’s – made it to the list!

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