Guest article by N. Venkataraman
(Mr Venkataraman’s first part of Hindi-Tamil similar songs was on ‘Inspired and adopted songs’. He also mentioned in that article that he would be covering the subject in three parts. In the second part he discusses songs from Hindi movies which were dubbed in Tamil. Synchronizing the lyrics, meaning, meter and lip movement requires a great deal of talent. It is a journey into a fascinating world, which, I presume, is unknown to most of us. There is a warning though. There is something infectious about these songs – you would soon forget that Madhubala ever sang ‘Mohabat ki jhoothi kahani pe roye’, because ‘Kanu kanda kaathal’ will grip you, or that Nargis sang ‘Raja ki ayegi baraat’, because after reading this article you would be humming, ‘Kalyana oorvalam varum’, and so on. – AK)
At the outset, I feel like a traveller commencing the second part of my journey through a desert looking for the elusive oasis. I am afraid that the scope and variety found in the first part will be lacking to a great extent in this article. Except the lyrics and the singer(s), everything else will be almost similar in both the versions. Even the singer(s) in one or two instances can be the same. Hoping that the deserts too can provide enough charm on a calm and moonlit night.
Wishing her Happy 71st Birthday on April 26, 2013
I am not a journalist, nor am I in a line which should bring me anywhere near film people. Yet, here I was having a relaxed conversation with Minoo Mumtaz in her apartment in Pune, a few months back. Some stories are epic in scale. This one had its beginning on the other side of the globe, about a year back, when I had gone for a conference in Toronto, Canada.
I wish I had never written this piece, and I tried my best to see that I didn’t have to. Yet there are times when you have to face up to unpleasant situations.
When I started Songs of Yore about three years ago, I did not have a clue what blogging meant. My only excuse was a notion I had about myself that I knew a good deal about old film music. As SoY has progressed, I have learnt a great deal more, and I realise how mistaken I was about myself and how little I knew. I have learnt from fellow bloggers and I have learnt from readers from their comments, and I have often been awed by them, and envious of them. At times I have also used material from them, acknowledging and praising them openly. Similarly, fellow bloggers, who are extremely accomplished, have often referred to something which I wrote, praising me generously and, at times, excessively. We have done it not only because it is legally and morally correct thing to do, but also because it comes so naturally.
Wishing Happy Baisakhi, Happy Indian and Myanmar’s traditional New Year, and Happy Birthday to a legend
When you think of Rangoon you think of Mere piya gaye Rangoon. Naturally this was what was uppermost in my mind when I visited Rangoon and some other places in Burma last December.
Guest article by Mr Ashok Vaishnav
(Ashokji continues his mega series which is the seventh article in the series, a couple of which have been contributed by other guest authors, namely Mr Arunkumar Deshmukh and Mr N Venkataraman. His last piece was on both the versions by female playback singers. He develops the same theme further in the second part which deals with the specific case of female versions in which one version is happy and the other sad. This article too bears his characteristic depth of research and ear for detail. –AK)
We continue the second part of our journey of multiple version songs in Hindi films – all versions rendered by female playback singer(s), in the form of one of the most basic use of version songs – to present a happy and a sad situation in the same film. The instances presented here have cases where both the versions are rendered by the same female playback singer. As it happens, all songs except the last one are rendered by Lata Mangeshkar
In an interesting Holi tradition in many parts of North India, important personalities of the town get together to play the fool, and vie with each other to get the coveted best fool awards. The next day’s papers carry colourful reports of these proceedings with profile of the winners of Mahamoorkh or Moorkhshiromani awards.
Guest article by Subodh Agrawal
(Subodh returns, after some gap, with an outstanding article on Desh and its close variant, Tilak Kamod. Some of the most iconic songs, such as ‘Dukh ke ab din beetat nahi’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Baje sargam har taraf se goonj bankar Desh Raga’ are in Desh. He also includes the concluding portion of Tagore’s dance drama ‘Shyama’, which is one of the most poignant and beautiful compositions in Desh you can find anywhere. The classical pieces he has included are recognised landmarks in these Ragas. He combines his great taste in music with a precision in writing he has acquired from his training in Physics and Mathematics in IIT. – AK)
For my sixth article in this series I have opted for one of the most pleasing of the ragas – Desh. Along with it I also include its closely related cousin – Tilak Kamod, because Tilak Kamod would perhaps not merit a separate post by itself, and the two go together quite well. Both these ragas have strong roots in folk melodies. Because of this they are often dismissed as minor ragas, which – in my opinion – is grossly unfair.
Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav
(The series on multiple version songs, started by Mr Ashok Vaishnav, is now getting multidimensional. Besides three parts by Ashokji, we also had Mr Arunkumar Deshmukh writing on Hindi-Marathi, and Mr N Venkataraman on Hindi-Tamil version songs. Ashokji resumes where he left off – now with all-female versions. This he proposes to do in two parts, which he explains in his article – AK)
We continue our journey of the multiple versions songs through a mirror-image of all-male version songs sub-category – multiple version songs in Hindi films – all versions rendered by female playback singer(s).
A tribute on Talat Mahmood’s Birth Anniversary, February 24
When I wrote on Talat Mahmood’s peppy duets last year, it left many readers naturally unsatiated. He, of the velvety voice, is known more for his heart-touching, soft and romantic duets. The readers very generously gave a big list of his duets with various female singers, which they said, ought to be covered. I had to clarify that that post was about his atypical duets, which are very special as they reveal a lesser known side of Talat’s singing, and that I was planning to cover his soulful and soft duets later. One should think that this has to start with his duets with Lata Mangeshkar. The interesting point is that his duets with Asha Bhosle happen to be some of the most melodious and charming. I am also helped by the reader Amit Mandape, who provided a list of his duets with her. I pay my tribute to one of my most favourite singers by presenting what I consider his best duets with Asha Bhosle, on his birth anniversary February 24 (he was born on Feb 24, 1924).
Guest article by N Venkataraman
(Mr N Venkataraman had been benefitting the SoY readers with his erudite comments for quite some time. Therefore, when Mr Ashok Vaishnav’s mega series on Multiple Version Songs came along, my thoughts went to him for doing Hindi songs and their versions in South Indian languages. I am grateful that he accepted my request. He starts with Tamil, and this too he proposes to do in three parts, which he explains in the article. With Ashokji’s three articles, and the last guest article by Mr Arunkumar Deshmukh on Hindi-Marathi, the mega series is now taking shape as we had envisaged. Please enjoy another learned article in the series, which is the first guest article by Venkataramanji. This would be hopefully followed by many more. – AK)
In the first of the series of articles on this theme, Ashok Vaishnavji had presented an overview of the various types of multiple version songs. In his overview he had elaborated the types of possible variations and some very broad categories of this theme. He had suggested separate post for each of the categories/sub-categories and further suggested a collaborative effort in compiling bank of songs and in volunteering to write guest posts on some of the categories. AKji had laid out the road map for further exploration of the subject and reiterated the views expounded by Ashok Vaishnavji on collaborative efforts on this theme. I had mentioned in my comment that this is a monumental task and the effort deserves to be organized and well documented. In the meantime, Ashok Vaishnavji has come out with the second and third part in the series, and in the last post Arunkumar Deshmukhji has given an outstanding overview of Hindi-Marathi linkage in films and songs. Inspired by these painstaking efforts, and after an encouraging communication from AKji, I decided to venture into an area, where I have not made any serious attempt earlier.
At the outset, I feel like a traveller commencing the second part of my journey through a desert looking for the elusive oasis. I am afraid that the scope and variety found in the first part will be lacking to a great extent in this article. Except the lyrics and the singer(s), everything else will be almost similar in both the versions. Even the singer(s) in one or two instances can be the same. Hoping that the deserts too can provide enough charm on a calm and moonlit night.
