A software engineer back from US to Bangalore opened a library at Koramangla called "Easy Library" and I became a member seeing the fantastic collection. She was a very well read lady really passionate about books. She introduced me to many authors , including Lee Child. Lee Child has a very unique style of writing, a very different narration altogether, always in first person.The hero is Jack Reacher, Ex-Army guy,retired and unemployed, he has no home, no base, no luggage, and no destination in particular. He is just wandering around empty handed with just a toothbrush in his pocket.He gets sucked into all kinds of problems and copes with them admirably.Each and every book of Lee Child is a best seller; Echo Burning, Without fail,Persuader The Enemy,Tripwire, The Visitor,One Shot,et all. Gone Tomorrow is his latest which I just finished today. Lee Child not only writes well with subtle humour, but also researches well and brings out many kinds of useful information. I never realised that US currency has same size of currency Notes whether it is $1, or $100, in one of the books, the villain is busy converting $1 Bills into $100 which is relatively easy because the most important thing is the paper, which is genuine! fantastic idea.
Some of my reviews of books are;http://tinyurl.com/22lo32z
Neil Donald Walsh's 3 part series, " Conversations with God" which became a best seller was very interesting. Please read the complete review at:http://tinyurl.com/2b3t4rs.
Another very interesting writer I discovered in Vince Flynn who writes exciting,political thrillers on topics of current interests; His books ; Protect & Defend, Term Limits, I found very interesting. Read a review of mine at:http://tinyurl.com/22ngde2 .
Humphrey Hawksley, a journalist has written a very interesting book depicting a horrifying spectre of nuclear war between India & Pakistan that develops into a mini World War. The book partly seems to have inspired the Episode-8/S-8 of BBC Series, " Spooks". Read my review of the book;http://tinyurl.com/37q4xhf
David Baldacci, I thought could well occupy the void caused by the death of Robert Ludlum. Some of his initial books were well written,taut thrillers, a-la Ludlum, but he has not been able maintain the quality consistently.http://tinyurl.com/2bx7cau
Tom Clancy:Another brilliant writer and a researcher, comes out with such fantastic books.Clancy is a consultant to NSA & Pentagon on strategic affairs, and has an amazing analytical mind. His creation, Jack Ryan, an ex-Navy Officer, who starts as a CIA Analyst and ends up becoming NSA, VP and then becomes President of US, is a loveable character and is personified by Harrison Ford in the Tom Clancy books made into films such as Red October, Clear & Present Danger, Patriot Games etc. Tom Clancy has created a huge number of video games all of which are based on commando/military /spy operations.
Read one of my book reviews of Tom Clancy Thriller:http://tinyurl.com/339adt5
Leon Uris, writer of super best sellers like Topaz, MILA-18, QB-7, Armageddon,a scholar and a good researcher who in his over 35 years career written ony a dozen books. His book Topaz, based on a true story, got made into a movie by Alfred Hitchcok, which was the only non-murder mystery by the master. Read my review of the book at :http://tinyurl.com/29agx9q
John Le Carre is another favorite author of mine. Splendid writer, his writing syle is like Japanese Sushi, very difficult to like in first tasting, takes lot of time to develop taste for, and once you have done it, you can't like anything else.I first read his book, " The spy who came in from the cold" after reading fantastic rave reviews in Time and other International Publications. I just could not progress beyond first few pages. It took more more than 3 months and over 20 tries to complete the book, I did not understand a word! I read it 3 more times, and then it hit me!!!.
Then, there was no looking back. Since then I have read all of his books, and enoyed the George Smiley series a lot, especially: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy & Smiley's people, Little Drummer Girl, Our Game. After the end of USSR and Cold War, everyone wrote an obituary of Le Carre since he has nothing to write any more! But he has survived, and still writes good books.
Some of my Le Carre book reviews can be read at:http://tinyurl.com/2wwxybq, Constant Gardener.
and :
http://tinyurl.com/24oco6x Our Game , and :http://tinyurl.com/356meou - Little drummer Girl, and : http://tinyurl.com/28ryuqa- Smiley's people,http://tinyurl.com/27w28lx - Tinker Tailor.
Next part of the blog will have more books and more authors.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Books & Authors-1
I got into the habits of reading books through the usual route of reading suspense thrillers in Hindi. The Novels of Ved Prakash Kamboj and many other Meerut based authors known as "Jasoosi"books. Vijay Series, Vinod Series, Col.Hamidmetc. were the heroes, and this was my teenage obsession.
Then shifted over to English thrillers; James Bond series by Ian Fleming, Nick Carter, Micky Spillane et all before I discovered Perry Mason series by Earle Stanley Gardener.
The court room dramas & investigative efforts of Perry Mason, the lawyer, with a small cast of Paul Drake, Della Street, Lt.Craig,Sgt.Holcombe was a fantastic world. I learnt a great deal about American legal system, even though I hardly knew anything else about US.
Next was James Hadley Chase. I finished the entire series of over 100 books over a period.All of them interesting,racy,crime thrillers. One book which I enjoyed the most was the only comic wrtten by Chase, " Miss.Shumway waves a wand", it was fantastic.I finished college and got into a job.
Nagarajan, a colleague lead me to Alistair Maclean came next, and I became his fan reading all his books including Guns of Navrone,Where Eagles Dare, HMS Ullyses, Night without end, South by Javahead,Ice Station Zebra,Satan Bug,For whom the Bells toll, and saw all those movies too. His later books, from Circus onwards were a big disappointment.He was the master of the arctic. The way he described,cold,freezing,arctic regions, I would feel cold even in hot summers of Delhi!
Then I discovered Helen MacInnes, and I still like her books, and read them again and again. Spy thrillers, but no James Bond type super heroes. Her hero would have only 2 qualifications; one ,he is intelleigent & resourceful, second he is a patriot. That's all. Her description of landscape was so perfect that I can still visualise the locales.Venetian Affair, Message from Malaga, Assignment in Britanny, Salzburg Connection are some of books that I remember.For a book review visit:http://tinyurl.com/2dtm6q6
I was lead to read Irving Wallace & Arthur Hailey. Wallace's, The Man, The Prize, The Word, Seven Minutes,were fantastic books, From R-document onwards, his decline started. Hailey wrote super books, Airport, Final Diagnosis, Moneychangers, Wheels,every book used to be a treatise on a particular industry viz: Aviation, Banking, Healthcare,Automobiles etc. He too went down the hill, and is hardly visible now.Frederick Forsythe who came on scene with the Day of the Jackal, and Dogs of War.He went on improving with every new book, and his latest, "The Afghan" is also very good.
One of newly acquired friends, Virinder Sahi introduced me to Ayn Rand. Oh man, that was a fantastic milestone of my life. I finished reading , " Atlas shrugged" and "Fountainhead" one after another, day and night, and took over a fortnight to recover and come back to normalcy. I was in a daze!. I have built a collection, and go back to Ayn Rand time and again. This is one author aboput whom I cannot talk, you have to experience it.
My Marketing & Sales Job entailed lot of travelling, and with each journey , I will acquire new books at airports. The bookshop guys became good friends. There is this Sindhi guy at Bombay airport ( Now he is downstairs near IA departure gate) who was an avid reader and would suggest good books. He introduced me to 3 authors, quite early in their debut years, who ruled the roost for many many years. These were: John Grisham, Tom Clancy & Michael Crichton. I have read anything & everything written by these 3 superstars.Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan & Rainbow Six series are excellent. I didn't much like the Op-Centre series.
Robert Ludlum wrote some excellent books,Matarese Circle,Aquitaine Progression, Parsifal Mosaic & Bourne Series, the first 3 were excellent. As a reviewer and a critic, I have found Ludlum taxing the gullibility of his readers with his bizarre, outrageous plots, implausible storylines, and his constant fixation on ’’conspiracy by a super-secret, ultra powerful, underground organisation’’ which has been repeated so many times that it has become a bore. Nevertheless, as a reader, Ludlum has never ceased to fascinate me with complex plots, twists and turns, fast paced action, violence, heroics, nerve wrecking drama,intrigue,nail biting suspense, and his ability to keep the adrenaline pumping, readers on tenterhooks, making his books ’’unputdownable’’
He started declining from Hades Factor onwards.His death made him a hero and even after so many years of his demise, his books hit the streets , Ghost written by his ex-partner Eric Van Lustbader...he is nowhere near Ludlum.
Some of my book reviews on Ludlum's books are: Cassandra Compact--:http://tinyurl.com/3al5vke, Prometheus :http://tinyurl.com/25ffntf
This series of blogs will continue.
Then shifted over to English thrillers; James Bond series by Ian Fleming, Nick Carter, Micky Spillane et all before I discovered Perry Mason series by Earle Stanley Gardener.
The court room dramas & investigative efforts of Perry Mason, the lawyer, with a small cast of Paul Drake, Della Street, Lt.Craig,Sgt.Holcombe was a fantastic world. I learnt a great deal about American legal system, even though I hardly knew anything else about US.
Next was James Hadley Chase. I finished the entire series of over 100 books over a period.All of them interesting,racy,crime thrillers. One book which I enjoyed the most was the only comic wrtten by Chase, " Miss.Shumway waves a wand", it was fantastic.I finished college and got into a job.
Nagarajan, a colleague lead me to Alistair Maclean came next, and I became his fan reading all his books including Guns of Navrone,Where Eagles Dare, HMS Ullyses, Night without end, South by Javahead,Ice Station Zebra,Satan Bug,For whom the Bells toll, and saw all those movies too. His later books, from Circus onwards were a big disappointment.He was the master of the arctic. The way he described,cold,freezing,arctic regions, I would feel cold even in hot summers of Delhi!
Then I discovered Helen MacInnes, and I still like her books, and read them again and again. Spy thrillers, but no James Bond type super heroes. Her hero would have only 2 qualifications; one ,he is intelleigent & resourceful, second he is a patriot. That's all. Her description of landscape was so perfect that I can still visualise the locales.Venetian Affair, Message from Malaga, Assignment in Britanny, Salzburg Connection are some of books that I remember.For a book review visit:http://tinyurl.com/2dtm6q6
I was lead to read Irving Wallace & Arthur Hailey. Wallace's, The Man, The Prize, The Word, Seven Minutes,were fantastic books, From R-document onwards, his decline started. Hailey wrote super books, Airport, Final Diagnosis, Moneychangers, Wheels,every book used to be a treatise on a particular industry viz: Aviation, Banking, Healthcare,Automobiles etc. He too went down the hill, and is hardly visible now.Frederick Forsythe who came on scene with the Day of the Jackal, and Dogs of War.He went on improving with every new book, and his latest, "The Afghan" is also very good.
One of newly acquired friends, Virinder Sahi introduced me to Ayn Rand. Oh man, that was a fantastic milestone of my life. I finished reading , " Atlas shrugged" and "Fountainhead" one after another, day and night, and took over a fortnight to recover and come back to normalcy. I was in a daze!. I have built a collection, and go back to Ayn Rand time and again. This is one author aboput whom I cannot talk, you have to experience it.
My Marketing & Sales Job entailed lot of travelling, and with each journey , I will acquire new books at airports. The bookshop guys became good friends. There is this Sindhi guy at Bombay airport ( Now he is downstairs near IA departure gate) who was an avid reader and would suggest good books. He introduced me to 3 authors, quite early in their debut years, who ruled the roost for many many years. These were: John Grisham, Tom Clancy & Michael Crichton. I have read anything & everything written by these 3 superstars.Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan & Rainbow Six series are excellent. I didn't much like the Op-Centre series.
Robert Ludlum wrote some excellent books,Matarese Circle,Aquitaine Progression, Parsifal Mosaic & Bourne Series, the first 3 were excellent. As a reviewer and a critic, I have found Ludlum taxing the gullibility of his readers with his bizarre, outrageous plots, implausible storylines, and his constant fixation on ’’conspiracy by a super-secret, ultra powerful, underground organisation’’ which has been repeated so many times that it has become a bore. Nevertheless, as a reader, Ludlum has never ceased to fascinate me with complex plots, twists and turns, fast paced action, violence, heroics, nerve wrecking drama,intrigue,nail biting suspense, and his ability to keep the adrenaline pumping, readers on tenterhooks, making his books ’’unputdownable’’
He started declining from Hades Factor onwards.His death made him a hero and even after so many years of his demise, his books hit the streets , Ghost written by his ex-partner Eric Van Lustbader...he is nowhere near Ludlum.
Some of my book reviews on Ludlum's books are: Cassandra Compact--:http://tinyurl.com/3al5vke, Prometheus :http://tinyurl.com/25ffntf
This series of blogs will continue.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
What's in a name?
Recently, when watching a re-run of an old cricket match featuring great innings of Sachin Tendular, we could see his home-crowd in Bombay-nee-Mumbai waving placards naming him as “Tendlya”. My daughter asked me what does that mean? Then I realized that brought as she is in posh south Delhi kind of a lifestyle, she is not perhaps aware of our distinctive culture of shortening/spoiling the names into ridiculous forms, and that too out of love!
Down south, especially in Northern Karnataka and southern parts of Maharashtra, the region earlier part of Bombay province, there is this tradition of spoiling the names beyond recognition, especially developed amongst the Brahmin community: Raghavendra becomes-Raghya, Krishna is Kittya,Sreenivas is Sheenya,Vasudev /Vasanth becomes Vasya/Vasu, Venkateswara/Venkatrama becomes Venkya, and so on. This practice is not restricted to male names only, in females :Tungabhadra becomes Tungi, Mandakini becomes Mandi, Parimala becomes Pammi, Shakuntala becomes Shaku, Vijayalakshmi becomes Viji, Nirmala becomes Nimmi.
When I shifted from south to North , to Delhi, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tradition continues here too, especially amongst the Punjabi community where Satish becomes-Teeshe, Mahesh/Ramesh is Meshi, Anurag is Ragi,Sukhvinder is Sukhi, Jagadev/Jagannth is Jaggu, Santosh is Toshi, Parminder is Pammi, and so on.
Then someone pointed out that this is a global phenomenon! Even in US, Richard is Dick, Jonathan is John, William is Bill, Jacqueline is Jackie, Rosalyn is Rosie, James is Jim etc.
But Punjabi system of strangely meaningless nicknames like Guddu, Pinki, Pappi, Bebo,Lolo,Dabbu,Chintu,Chimpu,Gorkhi,Guddi,Babli, etc. is matchless.
Down south, especially in Northern Karnataka and southern parts of Maharashtra, the region earlier part of Bombay province, there is this tradition of spoiling the names beyond recognition, especially developed amongst the Brahmin community: Raghavendra becomes-Raghya, Krishna is Kittya,Sreenivas is Sheenya,Vasudev /Vasanth becomes Vasya/Vasu, Venkateswara/Venkatrama becomes Venkya, and so on. This practice is not restricted to male names only, in females :Tungabhadra becomes Tungi, Mandakini becomes Mandi, Parimala becomes Pammi, Shakuntala becomes Shaku, Vijayalakshmi becomes Viji, Nirmala becomes Nimmi.
When I shifted from south to North , to Delhi, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tradition continues here too, especially amongst the Punjabi community where Satish becomes-Teeshe, Mahesh/Ramesh is Meshi, Anurag is Ragi,Sukhvinder is Sukhi, Jagadev/Jagannth is Jaggu, Santosh is Toshi, Parminder is Pammi, and so on.
Then someone pointed out that this is a global phenomenon! Even in US, Richard is Dick, Jonathan is John, William is Bill, Jacqueline is Jackie, Rosalyn is Rosie, James is Jim etc.
But Punjabi system of strangely meaningless nicknames like Guddu, Pinki, Pappi, Bebo,Lolo,Dabbu,Chintu,Chimpu,Gorkhi,Guddi,Babli, etc. is matchless.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Rafi
To the myriad fans of Rafi , there are thousands of Rafi’s songs to
cherish, almost all of them have three lists. List A is the general, popular, most well known songs which will be in everyone’s list. List B is relatively lesser known songs, and List C is a special compilation. My review lists type B songs which are fantastic, but are relatively less well known. I hope those of readers who haven’t heard these songs, will listen to them and add to their collection.
1. Jaag dile deewana: A beautiful Chitragupta composition from ’’Oonche Log’’, Rafi uses a special tonal variation for the song.
2. Ankhian sang ankhian lage aaj: A beautiful classical song in raag ’’malkaus’’ from Bade Bhai composed by Chitragupta. This song is a challenge to any aspiring singer, or a Rafi clone.
3. Dil ki tamanna thee masti mein: A nice melodious song from 11000 ladkian, best composition of N Dutta.
4. Nache man mora magan: A classical dance number by S D Burman from ’’meri soorat teri aankhen’’, superb alaap of Rafi with excellent tabla beat by the mastero Pt.Shamta Prasad.
5. Jara sun haseena ye naazneen: A melodious romantic song from ’’ Kaun apna kaun paraya’’ composed by Ravi.
6. Baazi kisi ne pyaar ki jeeti ya haar di: A pensive sad song from Nazraana, composed by Ravi. The only Rafi song in the movie dominated by Mukesh songs, managed to steal the show.
7. Itnee haseen itni jawan raat kya karein: Ravi composition from ’’Aaj aur kal’’
8. Husn wale tera jawab nahin: Another Ravi masterpiece from Gharan with some excellent poetry.
9. Jane Bahar husn tera: A classical based number in raag malkaus from’’ Pyar kiya to darna kya’’. Ravi again.
10. Main nigahen ter chehre se: A Madan Mohan composition from Aapki parchhain.
11. Tum jo mil gaye ho: Madan Mohan using Rafi’s histrionics to the hilt.
12. Ek haseen sham ko dil mera kho gaya: Another MM composition, so smooth and so free flowing like vintage wine!
13. Chhal kaye jaam: LP composition from ’’ Mere humdum mere dost’’
14. Raaz-e-dil unse chhupaya na gaya: a Ravi composition from a flop movie called Apna Banake Dekho.
15. Khuli palak mein jhoota gussa: Typical Shammi Kapoor song from Professor.
16. Do sitar on ka milan: A duet with Lata from Kohinoor, a Naushad composition. Rafi never sounded so sweet!
17. Koi Sone ke dilwala: A peppy song composed by Salil Chaudhri for Maya.
18. Tum bin jaoon kahan: Though Kishor Kumar version is more popular, I like the Rafi version for the shear verve and energy of the song.
19. Phir woh bhooli se yaad ayi hai: Sapan Jagmophan com[position from Begaana.
20. Tauba yeh nigahen: I have intentionally not included any fast numbers, but this one by LP from Dillagi is so unique that you better hear it.
I would love to hear the comments of music lovers on this post
cherish, almost all of them have three lists. List A is the general, popular, most well known songs which will be in everyone’s list. List B is relatively lesser known songs, and List C is a special compilation. My review lists type B songs which are fantastic, but are relatively less well known. I hope those of readers who haven’t heard these songs, will listen to them and add to their collection.
1. Jaag dile deewana: A beautiful Chitragupta composition from ’’Oonche Log’’, Rafi uses a special tonal variation for the song.
2. Ankhian sang ankhian lage aaj: A beautiful classical song in raag ’’malkaus’’ from Bade Bhai composed by Chitragupta. This song is a challenge to any aspiring singer, or a Rafi clone.
3. Dil ki tamanna thee masti mein: A nice melodious song from 11000 ladkian, best composition of N Dutta.
4. Nache man mora magan: A classical dance number by S D Burman from ’’meri soorat teri aankhen’’, superb alaap of Rafi with excellent tabla beat by the mastero Pt.Shamta Prasad.
5. Jara sun haseena ye naazneen: A melodious romantic song from ’’ Kaun apna kaun paraya’’ composed by Ravi.
6. Baazi kisi ne pyaar ki jeeti ya haar di: A pensive sad song from Nazraana, composed by Ravi. The only Rafi song in the movie dominated by Mukesh songs, managed to steal the show.
7. Itnee haseen itni jawan raat kya karein: Ravi composition from ’’Aaj aur kal’’
8. Husn wale tera jawab nahin: Another Ravi masterpiece from Gharan with some excellent poetry.
9. Jane Bahar husn tera: A classical based number in raag malkaus from’’ Pyar kiya to darna kya’’. Ravi again.
10. Main nigahen ter chehre se: A Madan Mohan composition from Aapki parchhain.
11. Tum jo mil gaye ho: Madan Mohan using Rafi’s histrionics to the hilt.
12. Ek haseen sham ko dil mera kho gaya: Another MM composition, so smooth and so free flowing like vintage wine!
13. Chhal kaye jaam: LP composition from ’’ Mere humdum mere dost’’
14. Raaz-e-dil unse chhupaya na gaya: a Ravi composition from a flop movie called Apna Banake Dekho.
15. Khuli palak mein jhoota gussa: Typical Shammi Kapoor song from Professor.
16. Do sitar on ka milan: A duet with Lata from Kohinoor, a Naushad composition. Rafi never sounded so sweet!
17. Koi Sone ke dilwala: A peppy song composed by Salil Chaudhri for Maya.
18. Tum bin jaoon kahan: Though Kishor Kumar version is more popular, I like the Rafi version for the shear verve and energy of the song.
19. Phir woh bhooli se yaad ayi hai: Sapan Jagmophan com[position from Begaana.
20. Tauba yeh nigahen: I have intentionally not included any fast numbers, but this one by LP from Dillagi is so unique that you better hear it.
I would love to hear the comments of music lovers on this post
Friday, April 23, 2010
Ravi- The composer who has been forgotten
Everyone seems to have forgotten yesteryears' Super hit music director Ravi who has bequeathed a great number of great songs which are incomparable, unforgettable and are just inimitable super hits, a pleasure to listen to, even today. Though everyone remembers the songs, but Ravi has somehow been forgotten. Even Sonu Nigam’s TVS Saregama talent contest which brought on stage many great music personalities of yesteryears once again in limelight and paid rich tributes, gave a pass by to Ravi. He is rarely seen, rarely heard of, and rarely ever written about. I feel very sad about it, hence this review to remind the readers of a great composer. To take you down the memory lane: Ravi made his debut with a Devendra Goel’s Vachan which also saw the debut of Rajendra Kumar. Ravi maintained his relationships and did many movies for Devendra Goel and also for Rajendra Kumar, the Jubilee Kumar.Some of his great movies & songs are: 1. Chaudhveen ka chand: Everyone remembers the exquisite title song soulfully rendered by Rafi in Raga- Bhopali. In addition there were other hits like Yeh Lucknow ki sargam, Mili khak mein mohobbat. 2. Gumraah: The famous “ Chalo ek baar phir se , ajnabi ban jayen hum dono” which fetched a film fare award to Mahendra Kapoor. There were other beautiful songs in the movie including: In hawawon mein, Aa bhi jaa, App aaaye to khayal-e-dile-nashad aaya. 3. Nazrana: The famous Rafi song in a RajKapoor movie! “ Baazi kisine pyaar ki, jeeti ya haar dee”, and Mukesh’s pathos filled “ Ik who bhi diwali thi, ik yeh bhi diwali hai” which brings tears to eyes. 4. . Do Badan : A series of superhit songs , “ Naseeb mein jiske jo likha tha”, “ Rahe gardishon me hardam”, “ Lo aa gayi, teri yaad , tum nahin aaye”. 5. Kaajal: Effervescent “Chhoo lene do najuk hoton ko”, “ Yeh julf agar khulke”, “ Tora Man darpan kehlaye” 6. Khaandan: “ Tumhi mere mandir” , Badi der bhayee nand lala. 7. Gharana: “ Husn wale tera jawab nahin. 8. Grihasti: Jeevan jyot jale 9. Bharosa: Is bhari duniya mein koi bhi hamara na hua. 10. Kaun apna kaun paraya: Jara sun haseen na-ye naazneen, 11. Humraaz: another BR Chopra movie featuring hit songs of Ravi, once again by Mahendra Kapoor… “Ae Neele gagan ke tale” and, “Kisi pathar ki moorat se”, These are some of the songs that readily come to mind. There have been many many more. The last remembered film of Ravi,Insaf ka Tarazu was another BR Chopra hit, in which the Pakistani singer Salma rendered a few old type songs like Dil ke armaan ansuome beh gaye etc.. The movie also featured Ghulam Ali’s Chupke chupke raat bhar. I think this was the last movie that Ravi did and after that where did he vanish? I remember Ravi and miss him.So far in my life, I met only one person from Bhilwara who said his favorite MD is Ravi! Despite his songs being superhits, Ravi never had a fan following, I dont know why.
His other good mvies are; China Town, Pyar kiya do darna kya, DusLakh,Aadmi aur Insan.
Of late, very recently, Ravi surfaced from his exile,appeared in the Total Recall show on TimesNow, and created a controversy saying the famous "Been" sound in Nagin was created by him and not by Kalyanji as we had known all these years.I don't know why he kept quite so many years, and is now coming up with this after Kalyanji's demise.Even Hemantda never denied it. It was surprise knowing that Ravi was an assistant to Hemant Kumar.
His other good mvies are; China Town, Pyar kiya do darna kya, DusLakh,Aadmi aur Insan.
Of late, very recently, Ravi surfaced from his exile,appeared in the Total Recall show on TimesNow, and created a controversy saying the famous "Been" sound in Nagin was created by him and not by Kalyanji as we had known all these years.I don't know why he kept quite so many years, and is now coming up with this after Kalyanji's demise.Even Hemantda never denied it. It was surprise knowing that Ravi was an assistant to Hemant Kumar.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
OPNayyar- a legend
I have been a great fan of OP Nayyar, Listing selected songs of OPN is indeed a difficult task, hence I have chosen following songs which are absolute originals, unique in their style, format, tune and orchestration. These songs are totally different from the standard style of MDs of yesterday and today.
1. Tu hai mera prem devataa: A duet by Rafi & Manna Dey from Kalpana( 1950). This is a classical number based on raag Lalit. Two male singers providing background to two female classical dancers ( Ragini & Padmini) is a unique experiment.
2. Aankhon se jo utari hai dil mein: Sung by Asha Bhosle for ’’ Phir wohi dil laya hoon’’ in another distinctive song. A maiden’s sigh of love, yearning for her lover, set to a beautiful, touching tune. The song has no beat, no percussion at all, yet so beautiful!
3. Jaiye aap kahan jayenge: Another Asha Bhosle number from Mere Sanam. Very unique format; initial lines have only guitar rhythm, followed by Tabla which gives way to snare drums brush beat. Antaras(stanzas) too have similar format. The ending alaap and usage of Santoor in prelude ,are superb.
4. Bahut shukriya, badi meherbaani: A Rafi-Asha duet from ’’ Ek musafir ek haseena’’, that gives full freedom to Rafi to showcase his unique quality of gliding across the octaves accompanied by some heavy voilin counters. Main Pyar ka rahi hoon based on a classical raga was another superb composition.
5. Aao huzoor tumko: An Asha number from Kismet. The song starts with poetry recitation in tarannum without any music, suddenly turns into a classical format, only for guitars to take over and a western type of club song follows. Another interesting experiment.Surprisingly, the remix of this song is one of favorites of the youngsters of today.
6. Mera naam chin chin chu: A racy, fast, rock-n-roll number sung by Geeta Dutt in ’’Howrah Bridge’’ is an evergreen OPN classic. The beautiful prelude on Guitar, Mandolin and Hawain Guitar, the interlude on trumpets and clarinets, the dholak beat in the antara, and effortless switchover to rock-n-roll drum beat make this number memorable.
7. Aapke haseen rukh pe: A beautiful, slow, beatless melody by Rafi from ’’ Bahrein phirbhi aayeingi’’ has only piano for accompanyment. No other instruments at all! Hemant Kumar much later copied the format in Anupama.
8. Haath aya hai jabse: An Asha- MK number from ’’ Dil aur Mohobbat’’ is a beautiful melody with some exquisite pieces of orchestration especially the hawaain guitar.The film had superb background music during credit titles, and a great cabaret song"Uff".
9. Akeli hoon main piya aaa: Asha Bhosle sings this classical based mujra in ’’ Sambandh’’. The hitherto unheard usage of flat & Sharp notes, Sarod interlude, and a distinctive taal make this song unmatched.
10. Huzoorewala: A racy dance number sung by I think Asha Bhosle and Meenu Purushottam is set in a very uniquely formatted tune of a quawali in western mould.The superb use of the pause, is unique and no one has tried it except for " Dil da mmamla hai" Another interesting experiment. OPN, the tru rebel, was the original ’’hatke’’ Music composer with a unique style of his own. Above few songs showcase his distinctive talent.
OPN has left behind such a rich legacy that I can write many more pages on his music.
OPN in his last few years, without any work, had to sell off his house in Pali Hill and move into a small flat in Ghatkopar and became a homeopath.
Thanks to Sonu Nigam and Rajendra Singh, they brought him back to the limelight featuring him in many episodes of popular talent show, " Saregama". OPN showed his greatness by admitting his great admiration of Shanker Jaikishan who for some unknown reason hated him and ridiculed him. Naushad of course, had great admiration for OPN.
OPN who died as an unsung hero, lives in the hearts of every Hindi film music fan and even now makes his appearance on Nostalgia based shows such as Total Recall being aired on TimesNow.
1. Tu hai mera prem devataa: A duet by Rafi & Manna Dey from Kalpana( 1950). This is a classical number based on raag Lalit. Two male singers providing background to two female classical dancers ( Ragini & Padmini) is a unique experiment.
2. Aankhon se jo utari hai dil mein: Sung by Asha Bhosle for ’’ Phir wohi dil laya hoon’’ in another distinctive song. A maiden’s sigh of love, yearning for her lover, set to a beautiful, touching tune. The song has no beat, no percussion at all, yet so beautiful!
3. Jaiye aap kahan jayenge: Another Asha Bhosle number from Mere Sanam. Very unique format; initial lines have only guitar rhythm, followed by Tabla which gives way to snare drums brush beat. Antaras(stanzas) too have similar format. The ending alaap and usage of Santoor in prelude ,are superb.
4. Bahut shukriya, badi meherbaani: A Rafi-Asha duet from ’’ Ek musafir ek haseena’’, that gives full freedom to Rafi to showcase his unique quality of gliding across the octaves accompanied by some heavy voilin counters. Main Pyar ka rahi hoon based on a classical raga was another superb composition.
5. Aao huzoor tumko: An Asha number from Kismet. The song starts with poetry recitation in tarannum without any music, suddenly turns into a classical format, only for guitars to take over and a western type of club song follows. Another interesting experiment.Surprisingly, the remix of this song is one of favorites of the youngsters of today.
6. Mera naam chin chin chu: A racy, fast, rock-n-roll number sung by Geeta Dutt in ’’Howrah Bridge’’ is an evergreen OPN classic. The beautiful prelude on Guitar, Mandolin and Hawain Guitar, the interlude on trumpets and clarinets, the dholak beat in the antara, and effortless switchover to rock-n-roll drum beat make this number memorable.
7. Aapke haseen rukh pe: A beautiful, slow, beatless melody by Rafi from ’’ Bahrein phirbhi aayeingi’’ has only piano for accompanyment. No other instruments at all! Hemant Kumar much later copied the format in Anupama.
8. Haath aya hai jabse: An Asha- MK number from ’’ Dil aur Mohobbat’’ is a beautiful melody with some exquisite pieces of orchestration especially the hawaain guitar.The film had superb background music during credit titles, and a great cabaret song"Uff".
9. Akeli hoon main piya aaa: Asha Bhosle sings this classical based mujra in ’’ Sambandh’’. The hitherto unheard usage of flat & Sharp notes, Sarod interlude, and a distinctive taal make this song unmatched.
10. Huzoorewala: A racy dance number sung by I think Asha Bhosle and Meenu Purushottam is set in a very uniquely formatted tune of a quawali in western mould.The superb use of the pause, is unique and no one has tried it except for " Dil da mmamla hai" Another interesting experiment. OPN, the tru rebel, was the original ’’hatke’’ Music composer with a unique style of his own. Above few songs showcase his distinctive talent.
OPN has left behind such a rich legacy that I can write many more pages on his music.
OPN in his last few years, without any work, had to sell off his house in Pali Hill and move into a small flat in Ghatkopar and became a homeopath.
Thanks to Sonu Nigam and Rajendra Singh, they brought him back to the limelight featuring him in many episodes of popular talent show, " Saregama". OPN showed his greatness by admitting his great admiration of Shanker Jaikishan who for some unknown reason hated him and ridiculed him. Naushad of course, had great admiration for OPN.
OPN who died as an unsung hero, lives in the hearts of every Hindi film music fan and even now makes his appearance on Nostalgia based shows such as Total Recall being aired on TimesNow.
Samvedna-Jagjit Sings for Atalji
Samvedna is indeed a high powered album. Everyone connected with this casette is No.1 in his respective field. Six poems written by Atal Bihari Vajpayee , our honourable ex- Prime Minister are featured. The introduction penned by Javed Akhtar is read out in rich baritone by Amitabh Bachhan. The poems have been set to tune and sung by the great Jagjit Singh. To top it all, the video features Sharukh Khan mouthing the lead song of the album. The video as well as the audiocassette are a treat to any connoisseur of music and poetry.
ABV besides being a politician with over 50 years in public life, also is a well-accomplished poet. Many compilations of his poems have been published. He displays an exceptionally sensitive and philosophical side of his personality, which of course does not come as a surprise to anyone who has closely studied his conduct in public life.He writes in chaste Hindi, which is not as bad as Doordarshan brand Hindi, one can understand with a little effort. The underlying melancholy in some of his poems hints at having been betrayed in love, maybe, that is the reason why he d never to married. It’s my personal feeling.I am just speculating.
Now to the songs;
1.Kya khoya kya paya…is the lead song that is also featured in the video picturised on Shahrukh. ABV also makes brief appearance. Poet makes an introspection of his past to assess what all did he gain and what has he lost. Superbly composed song has been rendered soulfully by Jagjit. This is the best song of the album.
2. Ek baras beet gaya; Penned by ABV on first anniversary of the Emergency while he was still in jail. ABV is dismayed as well as surprised that one year has passed ! Many thought that in a democracy like India, something like Emergency could never happen, but it did ! and not even a dog barked! I too am a witness to the happenings during the period, it was unbelievable, a nightmare and a blot on Indian society and polity.
3. Jeevan beet chala: A beautiful stanza… Hani labh ke palade mein, ( Weighed in the scale of profit & loss, life has become a business, everything up for sale has a price, what is not for sale, becomes useless) Forgive me my poor translation, I am no poet.
4.Chourahe par; Another sensitive poem expressing the dilemma of an innocent bystander caught at crossroads of life.
5. Door kahin koi rota hai: A pensive, reflection on ironies of life and death.
6. Kadam milar kar chalna hoga: A forceful exhortation to his colleagues to work together as a team, a quality that eludes most of us in India. This was written after the dismal failure of the Janata Party Coalition at Centre. In retrospect, it now looks that if no one else, ABV surely took his own poem seriously and made it his basic action plan and guiding star. Reading the poem makes you feel the enormity of the task that ABV accomplished by holding together a motley collection of over two dozen political parties & groups in a shaky coalition which surprisingly completed its full term and did a good job. This one is another nice song in musical terms. Except for 1st and last, other compositions are not rich in musical value. The casette is worth adding to one's collection. The jacket gives full text of all the poems featured.
ABV besides being a politician with over 50 years in public life, also is a well-accomplished poet. Many compilations of his poems have been published. He displays an exceptionally sensitive and philosophical side of his personality, which of course does not come as a surprise to anyone who has closely studied his conduct in public life.He writes in chaste Hindi, which is not as bad as Doordarshan brand Hindi, one can understand with a little effort. The underlying melancholy in some of his poems hints at having been betrayed in love, maybe, that is the reason why he d never to married. It’s my personal feeling.I am just speculating.
Now to the songs;
1.Kya khoya kya paya…is the lead song that is also featured in the video picturised on Shahrukh. ABV also makes brief appearance. Poet makes an introspection of his past to assess what all did he gain and what has he lost. Superbly composed song has been rendered soulfully by Jagjit. This is the best song of the album.
2. Ek baras beet gaya; Penned by ABV on first anniversary of the Emergency while he was still in jail. ABV is dismayed as well as surprised that one year has passed ! Many thought that in a democracy like India, something like Emergency could never happen, but it did ! and not even a dog barked! I too am a witness to the happenings during the period, it was unbelievable, a nightmare and a blot on Indian society and polity.
3. Jeevan beet chala: A beautiful stanza… Hani labh ke palade mein, ( Weighed in the scale of profit & loss, life has become a business, everything up for sale has a price, what is not for sale, becomes useless) Forgive me my poor translation, I am no poet.
4.Chourahe par; Another sensitive poem expressing the dilemma of an innocent bystander caught at crossroads of life.
5. Door kahin koi rota hai: A pensive, reflection on ironies of life and death.
6. Kadam milar kar chalna hoga: A forceful exhortation to his colleagues to work together as a team, a quality that eludes most of us in India. This was written after the dismal failure of the Janata Party Coalition at Centre. In retrospect, it now looks that if no one else, ABV surely took his own poem seriously and made it his basic action plan and guiding star. Reading the poem makes you feel the enormity of the task that ABV accomplished by holding together a motley collection of over two dozen political parties & groups in a shaky coalition which surprisingly completed its full term and did a good job. This one is another nice song in musical terms. Except for 1st and last, other compositions are not rich in musical value. The casette is worth adding to one's collection. The jacket gives full text of all the poems featured.
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