A tribute to Mukesh on his 45th Remembrance Day (b. July 22, 1923 – d. August 27, 1976) by guest author Ashok M Vaishnav
(Mukesh is among the mainstream playback singers who sang some truly outstanding non-film songs (NFS). Therefore, for any lover of Mukesh, a post on his famous geets and gazals would be most welcome.
Ashok M Vaishnav is a well-known name for SOY regulars. He has written over 20 guest articles for SOY. We know him as a thorough researcher which comes from his engineering and management background. He has written a comprehensive article on Mukesh’s non-film songs as a tribute on his 45th Remembrance Day. We lost him this day in 1976 of heart attack in Detroit, USA where he had gone for a public performance. Thank you Ashokji for this timely article. – AK)
The saga of performed songs in India is an age-old tradition. The knowledge transfer in the ancient times used to happen by word of mouth. Many lessons were encapsulated into the form of songs, which were rendered in the singing form to make them more interesting and easier to remember.
Ancient saint poets created devotional songs that were easily moulded into singing pattern. On the other hand, social events like festivals or births, deaths, marriages also provided ideal platforms for songs as means to share joy or sorrow. The advent of theatre created another genre of songs – songs that were essential part of the story of the play. These used to be romantic songs or dance songs or songs of national spirit and such varieties. It was not uncommon for a song to be played for the whole night as it would keep getting incessant ‘once more’s.
