Yesterday’s Melodies Today’s Memories - Page 6

Originally posted by: Qwest

Meena Kumari 'Naaz'

ye raat ye tanhaa_ii


ye raat ye tanhaa_ii
ye dil ke dha.Dakane kii aavaaz
ye sannaaTaa

ye Duubate taaro.n kii
Khaamosh Gazal_Khvaanii
ye vaqt kii palko.n par
sotii hu_ii viiraanii
jazbaat-e-muhabbat kii
ye aaKhirii anga.Daa_ii
bajatii hu_ii har jaanib
ye maut kii shahanaa_ii

sab tum ko bulaate hai.n
pal bhar ko tum aa jaao
band hotii merii aa.Nkho.n me.n
muhabbat kaa
ik Khvaab sajaa jaao

behad khubsurat nazam hein..thank you dada.

Haunting melody... V. Gangadhar

Audiences rejoice in nostalgia as Manohar Iyer, through his Keep Alive shows, takes them back to the golden era of Hindi film music.

Recently, as I was having breakfast, the telephone rang. A familiar voice announced, "Konjam Kelungo,"(Listen a bit) and what followed was one of Lata Mangeshkar's melodies from the 1950s' film Shagufa — Apna pata batadey, Ya mere pas aaja, Dil hei udaas aaja... The caller was Manohar Iyer and he relayed through the telephone, one of my favourite songs from the 'Aap Ki Farmaish' programme on Radio Ceylon, a must for lovers of Hindi film songs in days gone by.. Iyer does this often and thanks to him, one gets to hear very rare songs like the Talat Mehmood ghazal from Ashiana, another film of the 1950s, Mein pagal, Mera manuva pagal, Pagal mere preet re... Iyer is the founder of 'Keep Alive', dedicated to preserve and promote Hindi film music of the golden era from the 1940s to 1960s. Founded in 1997 in Mumbai, Keep Alive has brought together lovers of old Hindi film songs and has also honoured music directors, singers, lyricists and filmmakers. In one such show, the sons of Ghulam Mohammad, a famous music director of the 1950s, were thrilled at the honour bestowed on their father. "Thanks to Keep Alive, Mumbai once again remembered Ghulam Mohammad. This was a memorable occasion for us," they said. Every function is organised with care. About 40-45 songs of the composer are chosen by Iyer, rehearsed thoroughly and rendered effortlessly. The packed audiences rejoice in nostalgia. "Where else can we hear these golden melodies rendered so well?" says Gujarati trader Vipin Shah. "These melodies bring our youth back!" Iyer and Keep Alive have, so far, honoured music directors Roshan, Vasant Desai, Ghulam Mohammad, Husanlal Bhagatram, Khemchand Prakash, C. Ramchandra, Shankar Jaikishan, Madan Mohan and Anil Biswas; lyricists Kavi Pradeep, Shakeel Badayuni and Majrooh Sultanpuri; singers Manna Dey, Geeta Dutt and actors Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Few people remember the contributions of Husanlal Bhagatram or Khemchand Prakash to Hindi film music. But after attending shows that honoured them, memories came flooding in as we hummed tunes like Aayega, aayega, aayega aanewale or Zindagi denewale. During the show, Iyer also narrates in Urdu interesting anecdotes and little known tidbits about the giants of the film industry. Did you know that after the failure of his first film, music director Roshan was so depressed that he contemplated suicide? Here's another interesting anecdote. When S.M.S. Naidu, a popular filmmaker from the South, decided to make Kohinoor, a Hindi version of his Tamil box office hit, Malai Kallan, in a short span of time, he came to Mumbai to hire top-ranking music director Naushad and informed him that he needed to compose nine songs in just one month. Naushad, who on an average composed one tune a month, sent him to C. Ramachandra who, along with writer Rajinder Krishan, accepted the job. They flew to Chennai, and spent several days roaming in the city without sitting down to work. The frantic Naidu did not know what to do. With just one day left for the deadline, the composer and lyricist sat down together and completed the memorable music score which included fabulous hits like Itna haseen hain mausam and Appalam Chappalam. Song writing came easily to Rajinder Krishan who believed he could write a song on any topic. While having a typical South Indian meal, he came across the popular dish appalam (Tamil for papad) and when challenged to write a song on that, did it effortlessly. The result was the foot-tapping Appalam Chappalam song. Know how the immortal Lata solo, Tum kya jaano, tumhari yaad mein hum kitna royen from the film Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo was born? Lyricist P.L. Santoshi, who was desperately, but unsuccessfully, in love with the film's heroine Rehana, spent the entire night outside her closed door and the next morning gave vent to his feelings through the lyrics! Passion for Hindi songs Iyer was addicted to Hindi film music from an early age and tuned in to Radio Ceylon for old film songs. His passion continued to grow during his 15-year stint with IDBI as a finance manager. Disillusioned by the growing coarseness and loudness of film music, he decided to do his bit to keep the golden age of music alive and together with a small group of friends, launched Keep Alive. "Friends like Krishnan Iyer, Manoj Subramanian and Rajesh Subramanian stood by me and I found growing interest among the people for this kind of music," he says. Initially, he organised shows at his own expense, and later quit his job to concentrate full-time on Keep Alive. Today, membership has touched 3,600 and is still growing. Sometimes, shows are conducted at two to three venues, in order to accommodate members. Teamwork is the hallmark of the group's success. Musicians and singers consider it a privilege to perform for Keep Alive and pay homage to legendary musicians.

Today, there are many groups that have followed suit. "That is okay," says Iyer. "Anyone is welcome to promote the golden era of Hindi film music, but Keep Alive is something special."

Originally posted by: Qwest

Today, there are many groups that have followed suit. "That is okay," says Iyer. "Anyone is welcome to promote the golden era of Hindi film music, but Keep Alive is something special."

Thanx for the article. i agree its okay but as long as they dnt follow remixing or excessive remastering using techno sound, in the name of promotion.

Suraiya - A Voice From The Past

Author: Sheela Vesuna from Femina India

Meeting Suraiya was like taking a walk back in time.

There was a time when traffic jams at Marine Drive (Mumbai)were caused not due to a long line of cars, but because of a young charismatic actress whose melodious voice had cast a spell on thousands of young Indians. Entering her home at Krishna Mahal on Marine Drive today, instantly transports you into another age and time.

"I WAS 12 AND LOOKED LIKE MUMTAZ MAHAL!"

Suraiya's career as an actress began as a child artiste.

"One day, my 'mamoo' (maternal uncle) Zahoor, who was a popular villian in films, took me along to watch the shooting of Prakash Pictures' 'Taj Mahal'. There, I met the producer, Nanubhai Vakil, who felt that my face was ideally suited for the character of young Mumtaz Mahal and asked my uncle if I could do the film. My mother and grandmother agreed. So, I went off to Delhi to shoot at the Red Fort for 10 days.

"And that was followed by one offer after another.' And a star was born.

SINGING WAS AN ACCIDENT

"I was never trained in singing. Madan Mohan, who lived close by and Raj Kapoor once dragged me to participate in the children's programme on the All India Radio. Naushad sa'ab, who heard my voice on the radio, got in touch with me to sing for Kardar sa'ab's film, 'Sharda'. And I sang 'Panchi ja peeche raha hain bachpan mera', which was picturised on Mehtab. I was 11 years old then."

"NARGIS ENVIED ME"

"Frankly, I hadn't planned a career in films. I was just lucky to have got good roles. Nargis would always tell me, 'Somehow you get the best roles'," says Suraiya, modestly.

"Most of my roles were simple, but the audiences loved them. And I was lucky to have got simple, melodious and easy to pick up songs to sing, and work with the best composers of the day like Naushad, Husnlal-Bhagatram and Anil Biswas. We didn't even dream of promo videos, ads and all the associated technical wizardry then. But we still caught the audience's imagination."

THE CROWDS WENT SURAIYA-MAD

And how! When 'Pyar Ki Jeet' was released, it drew crowds outside Suraiya's house that had to be controlled by posting an inspector and four constables outside her house.

"When I went for the premiere of the movie 'Badi Bahen', there was such a big crowd outside! As I walked into the theatre, they pulled at my clothes. There was a lathi charge and people were injured. I stopped going for premieres thereafter."

"DEV SAVED MY LIFE"

No Suraiya interview can be complete without a reference to the Dev Anand- Suraiya love story. While Dev Anand himself went on to marry Kalpana Kartik and, later, to romance several other women, for Suraiya, it seems that love began and ended with Dev Anand.

"We were picturising a song in a boat right in the middle of the river, when the boat overturned and we found ourselves floundering in the water. I didn't know how to swim. Dev brought me out of the water. I thanked him, saying, 'If you hadn't saved me, my life would have ended.' He retorted, 'If your life had ended, so would mine.' We were drawn to each other."

"MY GRANNY WAS DEAD AGAINST DEV"

"I worked with Dev in seven films. Inevitably, people started talking about our romance and my grandmother learnt of it. She was extremely angry because Dev was a Hindu and granny was very orthodox."

"WE DECIDED TO ELOPE"

The highlight of this romance was the plan the lovers made to elope. While shooting for 'Jeet', the director decided to film on location instead of erecting a set. Also part of the plan was the summoning of a real 'panditji' to get Dev and Suraiya married during the shot. They would then get into the car and drive away - all as part of the scene, but in reality escaping.

"I BACKED OUT"

Unfortunately, Suraiya's grandmother came to know of the plan.

"Eventually, my grandmother succeeded in separating us. Dev was deeply hurt and offended by my lack of courage. But I was afraid for him. In retrospect, I don't think anything would have happened if I'd been bold enough. But I was terrified of my grand-mother. And was heartbroken. But time is the greatest healer."

A practical woman, Suraiya prefers not to be a prisoner of the past. She agrees that had she chosen one of the many marriage proposals that came her way, life would have been different. But, she says, "Who can say what may have happened had I married? I've seen so many friends' marriages crumbling. I've been single and happy, living and doing the things I like, with a circle of close friends. But I'll admit that after my mother expired some years ago, I felt some amount of loneliness creep in."

"PANDIT NEHRU COMMENDED ME"

"I'd been a fan of Mirza Ghalib since childhood. And so when Sohrab Modi sent for my grandmother and discussed the role and other terms with her, I was thrilled.

"It was a very simple film, made in three months. Yet, what an effect the film had! It was the first feature film to be awarded the President's Gold Medal. At a function in Delhi, Pandit Nehru, after watching the movie, said to me, 'Ladki, tumne kya unke (Mirza Ghalib) ghazalein gaayi. Tumne Mirza Ghalib ki rooh ko zinda kar diya.' For me, that was an award better than an Oscar."

"MY TIME HAD COME"

"I hadn't been keeping well and had collapsed with weakness during the shooting of the movie. I was forced to take a break and recuperate. During that time, I really enjoyed resting and realised how tired I was with work. I completed the films I had on hand and decided to call it a day. And I've never looked back."

Incidentally, this legendary actress-singer still retains a lovely school-girlish lilt in her voice. Time, it seems, hasn't laid its hands on it.

Suraiya - A Voice From The Past

Thanks Didi, great article.

thanks qwest da and barnali di for the beautiful articles.... 😊

Mirza Ghalib songs are evergreen. you can hear them anytime and anywhere ...so pure and melodious 👏 Love them

Originally posted by: Iron

Qwest yaar Geeta ke barre main to jitna kaho kum hai. Kya jaandar ayika raahi hai woh. I always consider her Tier1..on the top 👏 👏
thanks for mentioning beautiful songs 😃

Absolutely Iron she had a special place...😊

Thank you for the nice article. My Bhai has a library of all these melodious songs and I love humming to them too. 😛

Originally posted by: GUARDIAN ANGEL

Thank you for the nice article. My Bhai has a library of all these melodious songs and I love humming to them too. 😛

Thanks for finding time to read the thread.