March 6, 2013 at 9:08 am (Literature and Music)
Kalidasa was undoubtedly one of the greatest poets in classical Sanskrit literature. He was a poet and a dramatist and is known for some of the best works in Sanskrit such as “Malavikagnimitram“, “Abhigyana Shakuntalam“, “Meghadootam“, “Raghuvamsham” etc.
Vasanta Ritu (spring season) has set in and there is a sense of excitement in the air-the romance, the gaiety, nature’s finest manifestation in all her beauty- Vasanta, as Kalidasa calls it, is certainly the “Rituraja“, or the king of seasons.
It is impossible to accurately translate his works whilst preserving the lyrical beauty, and even more difficult to compare it to the lyrical visions of Vasanta of the lyricists of the yesteryears. Yet, there are moments of brilliance of various poets in chaste Hindi, some of which correspond to the ideas of Kalidasa.
Through this post, I will attempt to interpret Kalidasa’s vivid description of Vasanta in Raghuvamsham , and correspondingly examine the overlap with the bollywood lyricists on the said subject, and how the picturization of the songs have also derived inspiration by his works.
Kalidasa
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January 24, 2013 at 10:59 pm (Great Dancers)
Tags: abhinaya, Barood, Bhairavi, Chitragupta, classical music, Ganga ki Lehren, Hameer, Hindi cinema, Hussainabad, Kali Topi Lal Rumaal, Kanha Ja Re, Kathak, Kedar, Khayyam, Kohinoor, Kumkum, Lata Mangeshkar, Mr X in Bombay, Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni, Son of India, Tel Malish Boot Polish
Hindi cinema has featured some great exponents of classical dancing during the golden age. When one thinks of classical dancers to have graced the cinema scene, images of Vyjyanthimala, Padmini, Raagini etc flow in.
This post examines the graceful dancing abilities of Kumkum, who has several classical pieces picturised on her, and some non-classical hits. Kumkum was an excellent actress too.
Born Mehrun nisa from Hussainabad in Bihar, she was trained in Kathak
Nainan Me Kajra Laga Ke (Madhuban me Radhika – Kohinoor)
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September 21, 2012 at 10:02 pm (Great Production Houses)
Tags: Anjali Devi, AVM, Baat Chalat, Basant Bahar, Bhabhi, Bhairavi, Bindiya, Brindabani Sarang, Brindavani Sarang, Chitragupta, Chori Chori, classical music, Durga, Hasrat Jaipuri, Hemant Kumar, Hindi cinema, Iqbal Qureshi, Khamaj, Ladki, Madan Mohan, ManMauji, Meena Kumari, Miss Mary, Mohd Rafi, Nargis, Rajinder Krishen, Rani Roopmati, Rasik Balma, Salil Chaudhary, Shankar Jaikishen, Shudh Kalyan, Shyama, Tilang
There is a usual tendency to talk at length about the literary contributions of renowned lyricists to Hindi cinema, be it Urdu or chaste Hindi, or music directors who, through their immense talent, produced great classical pieces. However, not much is spoken of the production units who created these situations in their movies, hence providing a rich ground for the birth of gems which live on after half a decade of their creation.
This post is dedicated to one of the earliest production units of India, AVM, who produced superb movies in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu.
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July 17, 2012 at 12:52 pm (Great Music Composers)
Tags: Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, Adana, Ahir Bhairav, Amar Samadhi, Baap Mjha Brahmachari, Bismillah Khan, Chandni Kedar, classical music, Darbari, Goonj Uthi Shehnai, Great composers, Hamsadhwani, Hindi cinema, Jasraj, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, Jugalbandi, Kedar, Ladki Sahyadri Ki, Lata Mangeshkar, Ram Marathe, Salamat Ali Khan, shehnai, Sitar, Ustad Amir Khan, Vandana Karo, Vasant Desai, Yaman
Vasant Desai was an outstanding composer in Chitrapat and Marathi drama. He had great knowledge of classical music, and used it to create some immortal compositions. It is one to create a classical composition, but another to invite some of the most respected performing artistes in Hindustani classical, be it gayaki or tantrakari, and earn their respect. Vasant Desai regularly partnered with these stalwarts to produce some great gems.
This post is a humble tribute to his collaborations with the greats of his time.
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May 20, 2012 at 4:32 pm (Classical Music)
Tags: Adana, Amar, Baiju Bawra, Barsat Ki Raat, Bhabh, Bhairavi, Chitragupta, classical music, Darbari, Darbari Kanada, Garjat Barsat, Garjat Barsat Bheegat, Gaud Malhar, Hindi cinema, Insaaf Ka Mandir, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, Kaajal, Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya, Khwaja Khurshid Anwar, Koel, Lata Mangeshkar, Malbika Kanan, Malhar, Malkauns, Mohd Rafi, Naushad, Pahadi, Puriya Dhanashree, Rajinder Krishen, Ravi, Roshan, Sahir, Shakeel Badayuni, Shantaram, Tabla, Tansen, Title Songs, Tora Man Tarpat, Tu Ganga Ki Mauj, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Vasant Desai
Titles are a favourite with me. They are much more than listing actors and credits, and if used imaginatively, can add a lot of value to the art of story telling. Titles carry a wealth of information which make viewing pleasure – the fonts, the colour, the content and of course the background score.
Classical music has been used very innovatively in the titles of several memorable musicals, and this post will discuss them.
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April 29, 2012 at 9:42 pm (Great Qawwalis)
Tags: Manna Dey, Roshan, Mohd Rafi, Ashok Kumar, Sahir, Meena Kumari, Bahu Begum, qawwali, Amir Khusro, Nizamuddin Auliya, harmonium, Sahir Ludhianvi, Pradeep Kumar
Qawwali is a form of devotional music that expresses the mystical Sufi practice of Islam in South Asia, mainly in areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The term qawwali comes from the Arabic word “qaul,” meaning “to speak” or “to say,” thus emphasizing the importance of words of these songs. Its main function is to make the listeners understand the words or message of the songs.
The modern qawwali owes its existance to the legendary Amir Khusro, who fused the Persian and Hindustani elements to give shape to the formal format of the qawwali. His guru Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, who was a Sufi Saint, imparted great knowledge to Amir Khusro.
Amir Khusro and Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya
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April 15, 2012 at 2:49 pm (Colours of the raga)
Tags: Al-Hilal, Bindabani Sarang, Brindavani Sarang, Bulo.C.Rani, Chandralekha, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Hindustani music, Lata Mangeshkar, Lekin, Nagin, Naushad, O.P.Nayyar, Rani Roopmati, S.N.tripathi, Tuntun, Uma Devi
This is the first of my few posts which will focus on one raga, while explaining the technical details of the raga. I will try and make it simple and hopefully can help people identify songs in this raga.
I am starting off with Brindabani Sarang, which is a celebrated traditional melody of the Hindustani music system.
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February 19, 2012 at 1:37 am (Classical Music)
Tags: Adana, Amanat Ali Khan, Baat Chalat, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bagesree, Bageswari, Baiju Bawra, Barsat Ki Raat, Bhairav, Bhairavi, Bhatiyar, Bismillah Khan, Chandrakauns, classical music, Darbari, Darbari Kanada, Desi Todi, Din Ke Preher, Farida Khanum, Gaud Malhar, Hindi cinema, Jaijaiwanti, Kaise Kahoon, Kamal Barot, Madhur Madhura, Man Mohana, Manna Dey, Megh Malhar, mian tansen, Milan Rut aayi, Miyan Ki Malhar, Mughal-E-Azam, Multani, Naushad, Nutan, Pakhwaj, Pandarinath Kolhapure, Prem Jogan Ban Ke, Puriya Dhanashree, Ramkali, Rani Roopmati, Riyaaz, Roshan, S.N.tripathi, Seema, Shankar Jaikishen, shehnai, Shudh Sarang, Sohini, Suman Kalyanpur, Tabla, Taleem, Tanpura, Tansen, Tori Jai Jai Kartar, Ustad Amir Khan, Vasant Desai
The importance of “riyaaz“ while acquiring “taleem“, cannot be stressed enough while learning classical music, and this is the central theme of this post.
Several interesting sequences of different kinds, have been picturized in Hindi movies, of the student of music performing riyaaz or acquiring ‘taleem’. Needless to say, these make up some memorable songs, and the musical talents of the composers are on display. I have chosen songs where the artiste is performing riyaaz with a tanpura or learning from his/her Guru.
Mian Tansen performing riyaaz
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January 22, 2012 at 1:53 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: Aashiq, Adana, Anil Biswas, Anjali Devi, Asaveri, Basant, Bhimpalasi, Brindabani Sarang, Chitragupta, classical music, Darbari, Dekh Kabira Roya, Ek Raaz, Hindi cinema, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, Jhankaar, Jogkauns, Joy Mukherjee, Kaun Aya Mere, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Manna Dey, MaruBehag, Marwa, Nausahd, Nirupa Roy, Paisi Hi Paisa, Pakhwaj, Patdeep, Payal, Payaliya, Payalwali, Ragesri, Rama Hanuman Yudh, Rani Roopmati, Roopkumari, S.N.tripathi, Saaz Aur Awaz, Saira Bano, Santoor, Sarod, Shankar Jaikishen, Shanmukh Babu, Tabla, Vasant Desai
Payal, or the anklet, has been a favourite theme in Indian classical music and many lovely compositions abound based on this theme. It has been used extensively in Hindi cinema, especially in compositions based on classical music, and this post focuses on the same.
Nataraja performing cosmic dance
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January 11, 2012 at 3:14 pm (Great Music Composers)
Tags: Asha Bhonsle, Chamak Chandni, Hasrat Jaipuri, Jantar Mantar, Lata, Maharani Padmini, Mohd Rafi, Mukesh, Roop Sundari, Sardar Malik, Shakeel Badayuni, Sudha Malhotra, Suman Kalyanpur, Thokar, Usha Timothy
I was meaning to write a series of posts on the contributions of some of the lesser recognised music directors, and the first in the series is Sardar Malik.
He was an extremely gifted music composer, and it is unfortunate that like Madan Mohan, he too composed for a string of B-Grade and C-Grade movies. The movies were not successful at the box office, but the music lives on after half a century. This post will focus upon some of his lesser known compositions.
More about Sardar Malik here
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