Remembering Shamshad Begum : A Singing Star of Yore

Na Kahu Sang Dosti, Na Kahu Sang Bair…. as Kabir said was the motto she followed all her life. Otherwise how could it happen that a singer who worked with the top composers of 30’s and 40’s like Pt. Amarnath, Ghulam Haidar, Husnalal Bhagatram, Naushad, S.D.Burman etc and who was a top playback singer of her time, stayed almost out of limelight in her career. Had Shamshad Begum followed the …

Classical Colors of Holi Songs

“Holi Kab Hai… Kab Hai Holi?” When Gabbar Singh said this on screen, the writers would not have thought that it would become a psalm for the festival of colours in decades to come. Thinking of Holi, a few staple things instantly come to mind like holika-dahan, bhaang, gujia, gulal and of course Rang barse Bheege Chunar Wali… We get references of Holi in Puranas where Asura king Hiranyakashyapu tried …

Songs with twists

You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else, as Albert Einstein said. Few of our composers have actually did it and proved that by defying conventional methods, a better composition can be made. Hindi Film Songs of last seven decades is a huge repertoire of various kind of musical innovations. Some are subtle and some are very strange. All …

The Minimal Optimism : Achcha ji Main Hari……

Nectar … Is a name of private island where owner of famous Virgin Media Sir Richard Branson lives in his 70 Million dollar Mansion. Surely a great example of display of abundance. Interestingly, another business leader Steve Jobs used to practice minimalism to an extent that he didn’t like to keep furniture in his room. He believed it distracted his creativity. Dada Burman’s approach to his music is like a …

Back to Top