50 melodies, 50 stories: Asian Age – Book review

coverBook name:
Gaata Rahe Mera dil: 50 Classic Hindi Film Songs
Publisher:
HarperCollins
Book author:
Anirudha Bhattacherjee and Balaji Vittal
Amount:
Rs 350
Review author:
Yasser Usman

A young Indian banker in Tanzania falls in love with a girl back home. A 25-paise coin is given as a token of promised love — that he will come back to marry her. So when music composer Anandji Shah (of the music director duo Kalyanji-Anandji) happened to meet the young banker in Africa and was asked to carry his message to the girl, that he would be back soon to fulfil his promise, the musician returned to India to find out that the girl was getting married to someone else.

Musing on how to break the sad news to the banker, Anandji philosophically said to his friend, lyricist Indivar, “Ye kasme vaade, ye pyar wafa, sab baatein hain, in baton ka kuch bharosa nahi hai”. Indivar was fascinated by the line and that night one of the most soulful and introspective songs of Hindi cinema — Kasme-vaade pyar-wafa sab baatein hain, baaton ka kya… (Upkar, 1967) — got created.
And what happened to the banker of Indian origin from Tanzania? Ten years later he made a cult classic. His name was Chandra Barot and the movie was Don (1978).
Gaata Rahe Mera Dil: 50 Classic Hindi Film Songs, by Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal, recounts many such captivating stories behind a selection of 50 songs and celebrates the creative geniuses responsible for them. The author duo, who won the President’s Award for best book on cinema for their debut work (R.D. Burman: The Man, The Music), have selected songs representative of the six decades — starting from Chale pawan ki chaal from Doctor (1941) to Dil hai chhota sa from Roja (1992) — showcasing music from the era of K.L. Saigal to A.R. Rahman.
The prologue narrates the very interesting story of the song Babul moraa, naihar chhooto hi jaye… This song was reportedly written by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Oudh when he was asked to leave Lucknow in 1856 and sent away to Calcutta by General Outram. Later, the same song was beautifully rendered by another Nawab, the first singer-actor star of Hindi film industry — Kundal Lal Saigal in Street Singer (1938). This was a classic before playback became the order of the day.
But the book is not just about trivia. It’s almost a biography of these 50 songs where each song gets a dedicated chapter — details about the origin of the song, behind-the-scene anecdotes, intricate observations about song picturisation and in-depth technical analysis are remarkable.
For example, did you know that Lata Mangeshkar was being pursued by Nakshab Jarachvi, the lyricist of her first blockbuster song Aayega aanewala (Mahal, 1949)? Irritated by his constant “Aadab arz hai”, Lata had to finally take action against him. Or, that musician Biddu had to attend Hindi classes at Bishop Cotton School in Bangalore to be able to read Indivar’s lyrics for Aap jaisa koi meri zindagi mei aaye (Qurbani, 1980)?
The stories about these 50 songs are sure to take you down melody lane. But you might also feel disappointed that some of your favourite songs — including the so-called iconic ones — are missing. That raises the question: Is it possible to choose just 50 songs from a repository of a hundred thousand and call them “classics”? For example, Mose chhal kiye jaye, Kya se kya ho gaya from Guide are included in the list, not Piya tose naina laage or the silky-smooth Din dhal jaaye. O.P. Nayyar’s Deewana hua baadal from Kashmir Ki Kali is among the 50, but his much better songs from Naya Daur or Howrah Bridge didn’t make the final cut.
In fact, you’ll be surprised at the inclusion of Mai ye sochkar uske dar se utha tha from Haqeeqat (1965) while the iconic Kar chale hum fida or the eternally romantic Zara si aahat hoti hai have been royally ignored. You cringe at some of their choices and feel it’s unfair. But then, it’s their choice and they methodically explain their reasons.
In the authors’ note, Bhattacharjee and Vittal accept that selecting 50 songs was “like being sent to Ali Baba’s cave of treasures with no hand baggage”. They clarify that it’s not a “judgement statement” by them and there could be at least 10 more books befitting the title “Landmark 50 playback songs”. Various aspects like genre, melody, rhythm, musical arrangement, landmark value, etc., were considered but finally the selection was straight from the heart. One may not agree completely with their list, but no one can deny that the book has been written and researched dil se.
There are the classics that all of us love, along with untold stories about them. Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam where the wife (Geeta Dutt) gave voice to the anguish of her husband’s love for another woman. That Kishore Kumar used the notes of the vibrant Main hoon jhum jhum jhum jhum jhumroo to create a sombre Aa chal ke tujhe mai leke chaloon. Did you know that W.M. Khan, the actor who sang Ae mere pyaare watan onscreen in the film Kabuliwala (1961), is the same actor who sang Hindi cinema’s first song in the film Alam Ara (1931)?
While the book talks about most of the artists and even the unsung technicians, arrangers and instrumentalists, important artists like Noorjehan, Shamshad Begum, Mahendra Kapoor, Rajinder Krishan, Ravi, Usha Khanna and others are left out (though, thankfully, with a regret from the authors).
Like their previous book on R.D. Burman, Bhattacharjee and Vittal sometimes go too much into the technical aspects of the compositions. The raga used, notes, major and minor scales, etc. For example, “The mukhra of Kahin deep jale… retains the pentatonic structure of shivranjani.” Or “The composers use two komal notes — dha and ni in the mukhra where all the other five shudhha notes give the song a major scale colour.”
This is the part where a common reader might feel unequipped to understand the nuances of classical ragas. But, then, with their deep understanding of music and vast knowledge of cinema, the authors are obviously not playing to the gallery. The readers who understand music would definitely appreciate the effort.
While reading the book, there were times I found myself humming the song that was being discussed. Sometimes I went online and listened to the songs. I seriously feel that a CD of these 50 songs should have accompanied the book. That would have enhanced the reading pleasure manifold. This is an important book with superlative research. An impressive account that not only documents six decades of Hindi film music, but entertains through its conversational tone and delightful anecdotes.

Yasser Usman is a journalist
and author of Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story

 

Read original article here



210 responses to “50 melodies, 50 stories: Asian Age – Book review”

  1. Title

    […]Here is a great Weblog You may Find Exciting that we Encourage You[…]

  2. Title

    […]that would be the end of this report. Here you will locate some web pages that we consider you’ll value, just click the hyperlinks over[…]

  3. Title

    […]here are some hyperlinks to web pages that we link to mainly because we assume they may be really worth visiting[…]

  4. Title

    […]please stop by the internet sites we adhere to, such as this one, because it represents our picks through the web[…]

  5. is plenty of fish a gay dating site? https://gayedating.com/

  6. Lincoln Georgis

    […]Here is a superb Blog You may Obtain Fascinating that we Encourage You[…]

  7. Lincoln Georgis

    […]The information talked about in the post are a few of the most beneficial offered […]

  8. Lila Lovely Thanksgiving

    […]The data mentioned inside the post are some of the very best offered […]

  9. Madelyn Monroe Masturbating

    […]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[…]

  10. Cory Chase MILFCity

    […]the time to read or pay a visit to the content or websites we have linked to below the[…]

  11. buy-domains says:

    buy-domains

    […]usually posts some extremely fascinating stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[…]

  12. valentine gift

    […]we came across a cool internet site that you simply may possibly delight in. Take a search for those who want[…]

  13. allergy relief

    […]Here are several of the web pages we advocate for our visitors[…]

  14. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Sites of interest we have a link to[…]

  15. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]check below, are some completely unrelated web sites to ours, however, they’re most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  16. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[…]

  17. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]although internet sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not related to ours, we feel they’re truly really worth a go by means of, so possess a look[…]

  18. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]very handful of websites that happen to become comprehensive below, from our point of view are undoubtedly very well worth checking out[…]

  19. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]here are some hyperlinks to web sites that we link to for the reason that we think they’re really worth visiting[…]

  20. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Here is an excellent Weblog You might Uncover Exciting that we Encourage You[…]

  21. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]although web sites we backlink to below are considerably not connected to ours, we feel they may be really worth a go by, so have a look[…]

  22. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]please pay a visit to the websites we follow, such as this 1, as it represents our picks in the web[…]

  23. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]usually posts some pretty fascinating stuff like this. If you are new to this site[…]

  24. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]one of our guests not long ago proposed the following website[…]

  25. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated data, nonetheless really worth taking a search, whoa did a single study about Mid East has got additional problerms as well […]

  26. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]usually posts some very fascinating stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[…]

  27. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Here is a superb Weblog You may Discover Exciting that we Encourage You[…]

  28. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]the time to study or take a look at the subject material or web sites we have linked to below the[…]

  29. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]that is the end of this report. Right here you’ll discover some websites that we think you will enjoy, just click the links over[…]

  30. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Here is an excellent Blog You may Obtain Fascinating that we Encourage You[…]

  31. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]please pay a visit to the web pages we adhere to, such as this a single, as it represents our picks from the web[…]

  32. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]very couple of websites that transpire to become comprehensive below, from our point of view are undoubtedly effectively worth checking out[…]

  33. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]we prefer to honor quite a few other internet sites around the net, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  34. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]The data talked about in the post are some of the ideal obtainable […]

  35. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]check below, are some completely unrelated internet sites to ours, however, they may be most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  36. fundamentals of robotics

    […]below you will uncover the link to some web-sites that we assume you’ll want to visit[…]

  37. Space ROS says:

    Space ROS

    […]one of our guests lately suggested the following website[…]

  38. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]although web sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not connected to ours, we really feel they may be truly really worth a go via, so have a look[…]

  39. remote control robotics

    […]Every after inside a though we decide on blogs that we read. Listed below would be the most current web sites that we select […]

  40. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]one of our visitors just lately suggested the following website[…]

  41. Reputation Defenders

    […]check beneath, are some absolutely unrelated web-sites to ours, on the other hand, they may be most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  42. Reputation Defenders

    […]The data talked about inside the post are a few of the top readily available […]

  43. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]we like to honor several other world-wide-web internet sites on the internet, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  44. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Every the moment inside a although we choose blogs that we study. Listed below are the latest sites that we opt for […]

  45. Reputation Defenders

    […]Here is an excellent Blog You may Discover Fascinating that we Encourage You[…]

  46. Reputation Defenders

    […]please check out the web pages we comply with, like this one, because it represents our picks through the web[…]

  47. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]The facts mentioned in the post are a number of the best readily available […]

  48. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]one of our guests just lately encouraged the following website[…]

  49. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Here is a good Blog You may Uncover Exciting that we Encourage You[…]

  50. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]one of our guests just lately advised the following website[…]

  51. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]the time to study or pay a visit to the content or web pages we’ve linked to beneath the[…]

  52. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]check below, are some absolutely unrelated internet sites to ours, on the other hand, they may be most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  53. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]that will be the end of this write-up. Here you will discover some sites that we think you’ll enjoy, just click the links over[…]

  54. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Here are a few of the web sites we suggest for our visitors[…]

  55. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]the time to read or go to the subject material or websites we’ve linked to beneath the[…]

  56. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]usually posts some quite interesting stuff like this. If you are new to this site[…]

  57. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Here are a number of the sites we suggest for our visitors[…]

  58. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]that could be the finish of this report. Right here you will find some web-sites that we consider you will appreciate, just click the links over[…]

  59. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated data, nevertheless actually really worth taking a appear, whoa did 1 master about Mid East has got more problerms as well […]

  60. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]please stop by the internet sites we follow, such as this a single, because it represents our picks through the web[…]

  61. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]we like to honor quite a few other web internet sites on the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  62. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]just beneath, are several totally not related websites to ours, even so, they’re surely worth going over[…]

  63. custom writing

    help essay writing custom writing writing help essay, essay help writing.

  64. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]below you’ll locate the link to some sites that we consider you’ll want to visit[…]

  65. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]please take a look at the web-sites we adhere to, like this one particular, as it represents our picks in the web[…]

  66. grand rapids teeth whitening

    […]always a huge fan of linking to bloggers that I appreciate but really don’t get a whole lot of link like from[…]

  67. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated information, nevertheless seriously worth taking a look, whoa did a single understand about Mid East has got far more problerms as well […]

  68. grand rapids dentist

    […]although web-sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not connected to ours, we feel they may be essentially worth a go as a result of, so possess a look[…]

  69. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]check beneath, are some absolutely unrelated websites to ours, having said that, they may be most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  70. More About Them

    […]The info mentioned inside the write-up are a number of the best accessible […]

  71. https://gquery.org/

    […]below you will come across the link to some websites that we believe it is best to visit[…]

  72. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]below you will locate the link to some sites that we feel it is best to visit[…]

  73. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]we came across a cool website that you just may possibly get pleasure from. Take a search should you want[…]

  74. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]although web-sites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they may be in fact really worth a go as a result of, so possess a look[…]

  75. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]check beneath, are some totally unrelated internet sites to ours, however, they may be most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  76. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]we came across a cool web-site which you may possibly take pleasure in. Take a appear if you want[…]

  77. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]just beneath, are a lot of totally not related web sites to ours, however, they may be certainly really worth going over[…]

  78. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]below you will come across the link to some web-sites that we consider you must visit[…]

  79. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]Every the moment in a while we choose blogs that we study. Listed beneath are the most current web pages that we choose […]

  80. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]one of our guests recently suggested the following website[…]

  81. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]please pay a visit to the websites we follow, such as this one, because it represents our picks from the web[…]

  82. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]The information and facts talked about inside the report are several of the top offered […]

  83. make money online

    […]below you will locate the link to some web-sites that we feel you’ll want to visit[…]

  84. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]The data mentioned inside the article are several of the best accessible […]

  85. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]below you’ll uncover the link to some web sites that we consider you need to visit[…]

  86. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]please pay a visit to the web pages we stick to, which includes this 1, because it represents our picks from the web[…]

  87. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]one of our visitors just lately encouraged the following website[…]

  88. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]that could be the finish of this article. Here you’ll come across some sites that we consider you’ll appreciate, just click the hyperlinks over[…]

  89. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]always a massive fan of linking to bloggers that I really like but don’t get a great deal of link enjoy from[…]

  90. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]please stop by the web pages we follow, including this one particular, because it represents our picks from the web[…]

  91. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]that is the end of this report. Here you will discover some internet sites that we feel you will value, just click the hyperlinks over[…]

  92. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]that is the end of this report. Here you will find some websites that we consider you will enjoy, just click the links over[…]

  93. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]The information and facts mentioned inside the write-up are some of the most beneficial available […]

  94. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]that is the end of this write-up. Right here you will uncover some web pages that we assume you’ll value, just click the links over[…]

  95. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]the time to study or go to the material or web pages we have linked to below the[…]

  96. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]The information mentioned in the post are several of the ideal readily available […]

  97. Click Here says:

    Click Here

    […]one of our visitors recently suggested the following website[…]

  98. 최고 등급 카지노 사이트

    […]The facts talked about in the report are a number of the most beneficial accessible […]

  99. 카지노 리뷰 및 평가

    […]below you will find the link to some sites that we feel you should visit[…]

  100. premium-domain-broker

    […]just beneath, are various completely not associated websites to ours, however, they’re surely really worth going over[…]

  101. best-domain-broker

    […]check beneath, are some entirely unrelated internet websites to ours, nonetheless, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  102. how to start says:

    how to start

    […]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[…]

  103. comic book leggings

    […]one of our visitors a short while ago advised the following website[…]

  104. Google reviews

    […]below you will come across the link to some internet sites that we consider it is best to visit[…]

  105. Become a camgirl in Australia

    […]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a couple of unrelated information, nonetheless really really worth taking a search, whoa did one particular understand about Mid East has got additional problerms also […]

  106. reputation defenders

    […]although web sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not connected to ours, we really feel they’re truly really worth a go through, so have a look[…]

  107. 2023 Books says:

    2023 Books

    […]please visit the web-sites we adhere to, which includes this 1, because it represents our picks from the web[…]

  108. funeral director

    […]Search for cemetery records […]

  109. census records

    […]Dead people and bereaved family and friends […]

  110. birth records

    […]The Free Encyclopedia of Death and Dying […]

  111. dying says:

    dying

    […]Find a Grave and milion of death and cemetery records […]

  112. IRA Empire says:

    IRA Empire

    […]Sites of interest we’ve a link to[…]

  113. easiest football bets to win

    […]please take a look at the websites we stick to, which includes this one particular, as it represents our picks through the web[…]