Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Monday, 7 December 2015
Thursday, 26 November 2015
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
Tuesday, 13 October 2015
Monday, 5 October 2015
Thursday, 1 October 2015
Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Raag Bhairavi – My Top 10
At the very outset, I am acutely aware that my attempt at naming my top 10 may not find many takers, particularly because many of the 180 odd songs that have been listed are so melodious that no two people could possibly come up with the same list. This exercise is probably no different from naming the all time best World Test Cricket Team.
On
going through my top 10 list, it may probably appear that I have
played safe by naming songs which have an inherent classical base to
it. However, the only criteria that I have adopted is songs that
bring out the inherent beauty of Bhairavi in a manner that any person
who is cursorily familiar with Raag Bhairavi should easily be able to
recognize the song as being based on the Raag. That the songs
selected have a classical base to them is purely incidental.
As
such, many hit songs that we have loved and admired over the years do
not find a place in the top ten, only for the reason that they do not
bring out essence and the
flavour of Bhairavi as much as these 10 do.
Sr.
No.
|
Song
|
Film
|
Singer
|
Music
Director
|
1
|
Babul
Mora Naihar
|
Street
Singer
|
Kundan
Lal Saigal
|
R.C.
Boral
|
2
|
Laaga
Chunari Mein
|
Dil Hi
To Hai
|
Manna
Dey
|
Roshan
|
3
|
Ajahun
Aaye Balama
|
Saanj
aur Savera
|
Rafi &
Lata
|
Shankar
Jaikishan
|
4
|
Saware
Saware
|
Anuradha
|
Lata
|
Ravi
Shankar
|
5
|
Tu Ganga
ki Mauj
|
Baiju
Bawra
|
Rafi
|
Naushad
|
6
|
Insaf Ka
Mandir Hai
|
Amar
|
Rafi
|
Naushad
|
7
|
Albeli
Naar Pritam Dwar
|
Main
Shaadi Karne Chala
|
Manna
Dey
|
Chitragupt
|
8
|
Jo Tum
Todo Piya
|
Jhanak
Jhanak Payal Baaje
|
Lata
|
Vasant
Desai
|
9
|
Nache
man mora
|
Meri
Soorat Teri Aankhen
|
Rafi
|
S.D.
Burman
|
10
|
Phool
Gendava Na Maro
|
Dooj Ka
Chand
|
Manna
Dey
|
Roshan
|
Saturday, 8 August 2015
Raag Bhairavi - The Reigning Queen of Hindi Film Music
Hindi film music, particularly upto the mid-seventies, would not be what it is, were it not for the overwhelming role played by raag Bhairavi in enhancing its popularity. A significantly high percentage of hindi film songs based on Hindusthani classical music have their origins in Raag Bhairavi. Even one who may not have been initiated into the nuances of Hindusthani classical music, would have surely heard about Raag Bhairavi and be in the know that it is sung or played at the end of a classical music concert. To the one who is familiar, the Raag instantly evokes a feeling of awe and respect that is difficult to put into words. It is not without good reason that Raag Bhairavi is considered as the queen of ragas.
Raag
Bhairavi, due to its inherent nature and structure, has come to be
used more extensively in the semi-classical genres, such as thumris,
dadras, ghazals, dhuns, bhajans, natyasangeet and last but not the
least, Hindi film music. It has hardly being used for Khayal style of
singing. Perhaps the best ode to Raag Bhairavi has very befittingly
come from none other than one who has arguably sung the best ever
Bhairavi in Hindi film music – the great Kundan Lal Saigal (Babul
Mora in the film Street Singer). In an interview given by him in
August 1938 to Kriti Ghosh of Jayanthi film magazine, Kolkata, he had
this to say about raag Bhairavi, “My
favourite raga is Bhairavi. To know Bhairavi is to know ragas. You
know how it is. There is Todi in it. There is Kafi in it and
Bhimpalasi and Asavari and the flavour and scent of so many ragas. In
fact, with any three notes of Bhairavi you can have a dhun and the
possibility of another song. If I had Bhairavi, I will not pine for
any other raga much.”
K.L.
Saigal’s observations on Raag Bhairavi, particularly with regard to
a mere three notes being enough to have a dhun and the possibility of
another song, itself explains why such a large number of hindi film
songs have been based on Raag Bhairavi; more so in view of the fact
that Bhairavi is a sampoorna
raag which has all the 7
swaras of which 4 are komal.
Bhairavi is like an ocean that affords every melody the space to
have its own individuality and identity, without being accused of
being a copy or a clone of another melody. I am still in the process
of compiling a comprehensive list of hindi film songs based on
Hindusthani classical music. I have so far collated a list of around
650 songs (with perhaps many more to go) out of which nearly 190
songs are based on Raag Bhairavi, which translates into 29%. This is
an overwhelming proportion, considering the fact that there are so
many ragas on which our film songs are based. In the list of 188
there are 5-6 songs which are based on Raag Sindhu Bhairavi. The
second most common raag used in Hindi film songs is Pahadi for which
I have, at the moment, a list of 40 songs.
Of
the 190 songs, 48 (25%) have been composed by the great duo of
Shankar Jaikishan, who have virtually made Raag Bhairavi their own.
Of these 22 compositions were made for the great Raj Kapoor (either
for RK Films or in films where RK was the hero) who was a musician
par excellence in his own right and whose favourite raag was
Bhairavi, others being Shivranjani, Malkauns, Darbari and Pahadi.
Over a period of time, the songs in RK films based on Raag Bhairavi
came to be known as RK Bhairavi for its distinct style of
composition. It is said (and with good reason) that there is not a
single song in an RK film where Raj Kapoor would not have had a final
say on the lyrics and the music. He was so clear in his mind as to
what he wanted that he would brook no resistance. At the cost of
digressing, there is a documented incident wherein the great Lata
Mangeshkar, much against her wishes and objections, was made to sing
the song “Main kya karoon Ram mujhe buddha mil gaya” in the film
Sangam. Lata’s reservations stemmed from the perceived double
meaning of the song.
Shankar
Jaikishan were way ahead of their peers, with the great Naushad
coming a distant second with 22 compositions.
I
am attaching a list of all songs that are based on this raag. This
list is by no means complete. If any readers are able to suggest any
more songs based on Raag Bhairavi, I would be grateful and only too
glad to update my list.
In
my next post I will also cover Bhairavi compositions by other music
directors and also give my top 10 list of Bhairavi based film songs.
Saturday, 25 July 2015
The Greek Tragedy – What we should know but do not know
The last couple of months has seen Greece grabbing the headlines with its economy going in a downward spiral and talks about its imminent exit from the Euro Zone. As I write this post a crisis of enormous proportions appears to have been averted, in the eyes of the world at large, including you and me, although it remains to be seen for how long and the ultimate price Greece will have to pay for it.
All along, we have been led to believe by the media, at large, that the economic crisis was precipitated by the reckless spending by the Greek Government on its people; that the banks generously gave money to the Government, but that the Government grossly mismanaged the situation. However, a recent article by Mr. Chris Kanthan (nationofchange.org) has turned on its head, the entire theory so far propounded by the mainstream media. The points that he has articulated, if true, are very very disturbing, to say the least.
According to him banks and corporations have systematically brought about this situation to pass which, according to him, has been tried and successfully tested in Asia, Latin America and Africa, and which situation Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy also find themselves in at the moment.
According to Mr. Kanthan a 4 stage strategy has been adopted to bring about this situation:
Stage 1:
The financial crisis of 2008, in which sub-prime mortgages were doled out to odd and sundry and these were then packaged into Mortgage backed Securities with the active connivance of rating agencies such as Standard & Poor, Fitch and Moody’s, who added sheen to these worthless products, which were then passed on to unsuspecting takers, including pension funds, municipalities and countries across Europe, including Greece.
Stage 2:
When the meltdown actually happened, with the explosion of these virtual time bombs, resulting in the dramatic collapse of large financial institutions and banks, all the investors, including the Greek government, saw the values of their investments evaporating within no time. By a strange irony, the very players who had brought about this situation, i.e. the big banks and corporations, demanded a bail out from the very citizens whose lives they had destroyed. In the case of Greece, its tax payers had to dole out USD 30 billion.
Stage 1:
The financial crisis of 2008, in which sub-prime mortgages were doled out to odd and sundry and these were then packaged into Mortgage backed Securities with the active connivance of rating agencies such as Standard & Poor, Fitch and Moody’s, who added sheen to these worthless products, which were then passed on to unsuspecting takers, including pension funds, municipalities and countries across Europe, including Greece.
Stage 2:
When the meltdown actually happened, with the explosion of these virtual time bombs, resulting in the dramatic collapse of large financial institutions and banks, all the investors, including the Greek government, saw the values of their investments evaporating within no time. By a strange irony, the very players who had brought about this situation, i.e. the big banks and corporations, demanded a bail out from the very citizens whose lives they had destroyed. In the case of Greece, its tax payers had to dole out USD 30 billion.
Stage 3:
In this stage, Mr. Kanthan says, the banks, prominent amongst them being Goldman Sachs, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank) forced the governments (including Greece) to raise money by way of debts by having them issue bonds. Having done so, they then proceeded to downgrade these bonds, thereby making it difficult for the countries (including Greece) to borrowing further amounts at unaffordable rates of interest. Between 2009 and mid 2010, he states, that the yields on 10 year Greek bonds almost tripled, which gives an idea as to the exorbitant rates at which the Greek government was forced to borrow monies from these banks to the tune of 110 billion euros. Their stranglehold was such that in 2011 when the then Prime Minister refused another bailout, he was promptly removed and replaced by the then Vice President of the European Central Bank. Within a day’s time Italy suffered a similar fate when its Prime Minister was replaced by yet another banker/economist of their choice. By the year 2012 the yield on Greek Bonds had been increased to 50%, which in turn forced the Greek Government to agree to another bailout, larger than the previous one. Mr. Kanthan points out that these loans are not simple loans given by banks as one would imagine them to be. These loan agreements contained very onerous covenants that demanded privatization of the borrowing country’s assets.
Stage 4:
This is the stage at which these banks moved in for the kill, so to speak, with the Governments, including that of Greece being forced to sell many of its profitable assets to oligarchs and international corporations, which resulted in the privatization of key Governments departments such as water, electricity, post offices, airport services, national banks, telecommunications and port authorities. This would automatically reduce the government’s revenue, thereby forcing them to borrow further amounts. As a solution to the problem, the Government would be forced to spend less, which translates into laying off workers, cutting minimum wages, cutting down pensions (social security), cutting down on public services and to top it all, increasing taxes. Mr. Kanthan ranks the Greek crisis as being far worse than the Great Depression in the 1930s.
In this stage, Mr. Kanthan says, the banks, prominent amongst them being Goldman Sachs, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank) forced the governments (including Greece) to raise money by way of debts by having them issue bonds. Having done so, they then proceeded to downgrade these bonds, thereby making it difficult for the countries (including Greece) to borrowing further amounts at unaffordable rates of interest. Between 2009 and mid 2010, he states, that the yields on 10 year Greek bonds almost tripled, which gives an idea as to the exorbitant rates at which the Greek government was forced to borrow monies from these banks to the tune of 110 billion euros. Their stranglehold was such that in 2011 when the then Prime Minister refused another bailout, he was promptly removed and replaced by the then Vice President of the European Central Bank. Within a day’s time Italy suffered a similar fate when its Prime Minister was replaced by yet another banker/economist of their choice. By the year 2012 the yield on Greek Bonds had been increased to 50%, which in turn forced the Greek Government to agree to another bailout, larger than the previous one. Mr. Kanthan points out that these loans are not simple loans given by banks as one would imagine them to be. These loan agreements contained very onerous covenants that demanded privatization of the borrowing country’s assets.
Stage 4:
This is the stage at which these banks moved in for the kill, so to speak, with the Governments, including that of Greece being forced to sell many of its profitable assets to oligarchs and international corporations, which resulted in the privatization of key Governments departments such as water, electricity, post offices, airport services, national banks, telecommunications and port authorities. This would automatically reduce the government’s revenue, thereby forcing them to borrow further amounts. As a solution to the problem, the Government would be forced to spend less, which translates into laying off workers, cutting minimum wages, cutting down pensions (social security), cutting down on public services and to top it all, increasing taxes. Mr. Kanthan ranks the Greek crisis as being far worse than the Great Depression in the 1930s.
In his article he implores the people of Greece to give a NO to austerity in the then forthcoming referendum. The Greeks duly obliged with a resounding NO to austerities, only to see their Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras do a volte face days later and agree to austerities, which is being seen as an act of betrayal by the people of Greece.
Mr. Kanthan then goes on to encapsulate his point of view in the following words – “This is the essence of the New World Order – a world owned by a handful of corporations and banks; a world that is full of obedient, powerless debts serfs.”
For those who know about the term New World Order will instantly know that Mr. Kanthan has merely scratched the surface in terms of it actually entails. Those who have the inclination and the time to explore what the term New World Order ‘actually’ beholds, the internet is waiting to tell you all that you need to know.
Mr. Kanthan then goes on to encapsulate his point of view in the following words – “This is the essence of the New World Order – a world owned by a handful of corporations and banks; a world that is full of obedient, powerless debts serfs.”
For those who know about the term New World Order will instantly know that Mr. Kanthan has merely scratched the surface in terms of it actually entails. Those who have the inclination and the time to explore what the term New World Order ‘actually’ beholds, the internet is waiting to tell you all that you need to know.
Only time will tell what the future portends for Greece...... and for the rest of the vulnerable world.
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
Hindi Film Music And Marathi Natyasangeet What Does The Future Behold?
Having been born in the early sixties and fed on a rich diet of, on the one
hand, Hindi film music of the fifties, sixties and mid-seventies and
on the other hand Marathi natya sangeet & bhavageet, it has
bothered me no end to see the gradual decline of these glorious forms
of music.
In
the last more than twenty five years, there would, in my view,
probably not be more than 20 hindi film songs which would stand
shoulder to shoulder with their glorious predecessors. Selected songs
from the films 1942 A Love Story, Lekin, Roja, Deewana and Lagaan are
those that I can readily recall. The advent of MTV into India has
been one of the
reasons for the change in the taste of the audiences, more
particularly the younger generation. The scene was even more
disturbing on the natyasangeet front. As a child, I vividly remember
having watched Matsyagandha and Suvarntula in the theatre – my late
father was a natyasangeet and bhavageet buff. I still recall, as a
five year old, watching Ashalatatai Wabgaonkar singing Artha
Shoonya Bhaasay; and to date
that is one of my all time favourites. Besides, listening to Marathi
songs on Bombay ‘A’ station on radio, Aapli
Aavad in particular, before
going to sleep was almost a daily ritual, which nurtured the liking
for this genre of music in me. Thankfully, I am seeing a revival of
natyasangeet; my joy knew no bounds while watching Katyaar
Kaaljaat Ghusli on TV a few
days back, with Rahul Deshpande reprising the role made immortal by
his late grandfather Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande, and doing full justice
to it.
I also happened to listen to CDs containing natyasangeet
composed and sung by the late Pt. Dinanath Mangeshkar, brought alive
by Swaradheesh Bharat Balvalli and was completely swept away by the
genius of this young man. The joy was all the more greater, as I have
known Bharat as a kid, even before his initiation into the world of
music. What stood out even then, was his high pitched singsong voice
and surging restless energy, that was waiting to be harnessed; and
with God’s grace it has happened so. This has given me great hope
that the future of natyasangeeet is secure in the safe hands of the
likes of Bharat Balvalli and Rahul Deshpande. However, as I write
this note, I am not as optimistic about our Hindi film music; I
guess, as things stand, I’ll have to make do with the good old
memories.
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|
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| Swaradheesh Bharat Balvalli |
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