bollywood,binaca geetmala,humour etc-squarecut's blog

Shoppers

2009-08-23T16:59:00.001+05:30

In the past, I have discussed salesmen and their salestalk, that I dislike. But then there are two sides to each coin. If there are salesmen, then it follows that there must be shoppers as well. One may keep salesmen at bay, but what can one do with a shopper ? Unlike the salesman who is a stranger, the shopper is no stranger to you . She is your own spouse ! And try keeping her away from shopping !

Most ladies are not given to reading newspapers, but they open the local newspaper and find out the ads of "Sale" in the newspaper and decide that they need to go there.

I have mentioned while discussing salesmen that salesmen are trained to regard their customers as naive and fools. They may have valid reasons for their belief, I am sure. Most women, for some reason love to shop. And no, a lady does not like to shop alone. She needs to take at least one more female shopper with her. In case of my wife, it is our 11 year old daughter most of the time. So the two go and do shopping to their hearts' content.Salesmen certainly know how to attract shoppers to their shops. Write "Sale" on a board and display it outside the shop and women will invade the shop in droves. Women like to feel that they get items at lesser prices in shops displaying "Sale" board.

I like to tell her that one should purchase things when one needs them, not when there are shops with "Sale" board on them. I also tell her that doing shopping just for the heck of it is like being a slave to the shop keeper. The money that is with you now, ends up in the hands of the shopkeeper, and you end up with a item you do not need. Such logic falls on deaf ears obviously. My logical remarks are countered by sentimental rhetoric like-"Why is one earning money if not for buying things that one likes. Look at Jains (Indian equivalent of Jones with whom one must keep up) and see how they live in style.What would they think about us." There is no point telling her that the Jains suffer from health and psychological problems and they must surely look at us with envy on these fronts. Moreover, why should one bother what others think about us. But to her, it certainly matters.

Once ladies reach a shop,they love to haggle over price. The shopkeepers know about that, so they suitably inflate the price of the item. After some haggling, the shopkeeper "reluctantly" agrees to sell at a lower price, telling the lady how he is selling the item at a loss just because she is a valuable customer to him. And the lady feels very happy that she got an item at a "good" price.

Ladies also love to go to handicrafts exhibitions.The price available there are already low because there one is purchasing directly from the manufacturer, and moreover the sales in these exhibitions are tax exempted too. But ladies do not realise all this and they haggle over price even in these exhiitions.

The shopkeepers think of new ways to outsmart the ladies. One new trend these days is the offer of "buy one get one free". This in fact has become "old fashioned". Now it is "buy one get four free". The ridiculousness of this offer is lost on all the shoppers. Why would a shopkeeper give you five items for the price of one ? The fact that the price quoted for that one item is in reality the price of all five items is not something that the shoppers are prepared to exercise their brains over. And since they are made to belive that they are getting five for the price of one, their tend not to haggle over price at these shops.

And what are the products that these shoppers tend to buy? It is not books, it is not artifacts, it is not gadgets- it is garments,garments and garments 90% of the time- and remaining 10% of the time it is footwears.

The reason why women buy garments and not books is similar to the reason why they watch TV serials instead of reading books, the former is enjoyable and requires no exertion, and the later is sheer drudgery for them.

And what exactly is the modus operandi of shopping for garments ? The lady goes to a garment shop, and asks for garments to be shown. They are not very articulate in expressing what they want, and as a result end up with thirty-forty of even more pieces of items. And how exactly do they scrutinise and choose what they want ? They take the item in their hands, look at it from one side, then from the other side, and ask "intelligent" questions like, "rang udega to nahin" (the colour will not fade, I hope), "dhone se fatega to nahin" (I hope it will not get torn while washing it"). I have yet to come across a salesman who has replied to these questions in the affirmative, so why waste your breath asking these questions ?

Finally, after spending some couple of hours in a shop, the lady may decide that none of the items suited her requirement. But what exactly was her requirement ? She is not able to explain.

And even when she finally likes a piece, she is not able to explain why she liked it.

What is the role of the spouse of the shopper all this while? Most spouses could well be like the shoppers and they too may enjoy shopping. So they are beside their better half, enthusiastically participating and enjoying their shopping experience.

But what about someone like me ? I agree to take her to the shopping place, that is all. I make it clear that I am not going shopping with her.I mostly wait outside. But sometimes, I am forced to accompany her against my wishes. Most of the time, when she asks me whether I need some new clothes too, I say no. But sometimes, she decides that I need them, and so I am forced to go inside the shop.

The arduous process of choosing the garments commences. I half heartedly participate in choosing them. I do not make any intelligent enquires about the clothes. Then comes the part that I dread the most. Try out these ones, I am told. Taking a few chosen clothes, I am asked to go to the change room and try them out. After putting on each of them, I would come out and demonstrate it to my wife that the garment in question is alright, tight, or lose or whatever. After that ordeal is over, and I am back in my original clothes, I finally try to have a say- this pant is tight, it will not do. The salesman states that it would get loose after a wash. That one in loose, so that will hopefully shrink after a wash, I add sarcastically.

Later, the wife admonishes me not to make such remarks as the salesmen are only doing their job. Yes, they are doing a good job because no one applies one's mind when these salesmen glibly talk about these clothes shrinking or spreading after a wash.

It is because of these dreaded experiences that I prefer waiting outside the shop if I can help it. And this wait could turn out to be quite long. Evening may turn to night, and vehicles of other shoppers, who arrived later, also leave, but there is no indication of my two inhouse shoppers coming back anytime soon. And it is not just a question of walking down a shop and finding where they are. In all this while, they may have visited many shops, and may have gone to some shop in the small bylanes, looking for bargains. Good that we have mobiles these days, I think. I take out my mobile and ring her. What do I hear ? " This mobile is switched off" is the message. The feeling is one of anger, as well as concern. Why keep your mobile switched off, when you have one . It is night time and they have gone somewhere to the interior of the market, which is not advisable. This and other worrying thoughts come to one's mind.

Just as I am despairing and deciding that things are not looking good, what with all others shoppers gone, there they are. They are carrying a few purchased items alright, but she states that she could not get what she wanted . Why should it take her so long only to discover that what she wanted was not available. But I wisely keep my opinion to myself. I only tell her that she should have kept her mobile on . My mobile, where is it ? She searches for it, but as usual she is unable to find it. She asks me to call her number, and I tell her that the phone was switched off, so there was no use calling that number.

By now, I have realised that shopping is her way of unwinding. More than buying a thing, it is going to a shop and spending time making enquiries etc is what matters to ladies. Just going there, buying an item and coming out of the shop in a few minutes is not for them. If I have to buy something ( it would mostly be a book, not a garment), I would just go to a shop, locate the book, buy it and come out of the shop, and the whole exercise will not take more than a few minutes. I will not ask for ten copies of the same or similar books and I will not make enquiries like "will the pages of the book get dog eared", "the cover is not looking right, show the cover in some other colour". In fact, if I go to a shop and end up spending some time inside the shop, I feel obliged to buy something. But that is not the case with ladies. They have no compunction wasting their own time as well as that of the shopkeepers. Of course, neither of the parties regard it as wastage of time.

So we come back home, and it turns out that her mobile was left behind in the home. She switches it on, and rings her sister/ cousin/ acquaintance and gabs for half an hour talking about her shopping experience. Yes, ladies can spend as much time talking on phone as they do in shopping. While shopping, they are filling up the coffers of the garment sellers. While talking on phone (they too have the equivalent of "Sale" tag- they call it cheaper talk time), they are filling up the coffers of the telephone companies. Now I realise why the garment and telephone industry in India is flourishing.

Once upon a time I watched a reality show on TV

2008-09-20T11:43:00.010+05:30

Saas bahu serials
When cable TV came into India, they did not have much idea what to do in the early days.Initially, they had song and dance shows like chitrahaar. Then came serials. Then came Ms Ekta Kapoor, daughter of the erstwhile Jumping jack of Bollywood movies, and she hit upon the jackpot- in the form of Saas Bahu serials. Now, Ekta means unity, but her saas bahu serials have actually caused disunity in many families which have been avid watchers of such serials.

Quiz shows
Then came quiz shows.These quiz shows, hosted by celebrity actors,would reward participants who could reach the hot seat. Of course, reaching the hot seat through by dialling the given numbers was tougher than the tasks that mythological heroes were called upon to perform in the past. These quiz shows in turn were often used to launch new saas bahu serials which followed just after the quiz show.

Reality show
Now, these channels have hit upon another formula. It is called "reality shows". In these shows,people typically sing and/or dance,and their performances is judged by celebrity judges. After their performance, jugdes give them marks. A few participants, getting the least marks get eliminated. Not just the jugdes, public is also asked to jugde the fate of the participants. After the performance, the participants has a message for the audience in which he requests the audience to vote for him through SMS.

Presenter of the show takes sadistic pleasure in announcing which participants are in danger zone, and then it is with great fanfare and melodrama that the eliminated participant is thrown out of the contest.

Dissenting Participants/Judges
Often, some participants who get poor marks allege foul play and stage a walk out. Not just that, sometimes, one of the celebrity jugdes also alleges foul play when his favourite participant gets eliminated, and he too stages a walk out.

Vote through SMS
And there are a huge number of audience who enjoy watching these "reality" shows, but the people who really enjoy it the most are the serial makers and the mobile companies, who roll in megabucks through the millions of SMSes that the public sends to vote for their favourite participants. The revenue thus generated in a matter of hours is easily more than what the sponsors of these serials pour into the coffers of these serial makers.

Watching a reality show
I am one of the few who can never watch these kind of shows, and I make no secret of my aversion for such serials.And as if to tease me, every channel has got this kind of serials at prime time. And incidentally,there are quite a large number of Indian channels these days.

Against the best of my judgement, I decided to watch one such show on 26th january.

What was this show
It was a Zee TV show called "Sa Re Ga Ma" where kids special contests were going on. Kids would sing songs and they would be judged by two celebrity judges- viz playback singers Suresh Wadkar and Sonu Nigam. The show, like all such shows had a host too, the host being son of another playback singer (Udit Narayan).

topic of show for 26 january
So, the programme begins with music, and the teenage host welcomes all, like the grown up hosts do in other such shows, using big high sounding words. The show apparently has songs sung by kids on a particular topic. The topic for 26th january was patriotic songs.I had actually managed to find out beforehand that the topic had to be patriotic songs. You see, I have access to a cluster of supercomputers, which we Rocket scientists use to decode such hard to guess information.

Chief guest arrives
These programmes have one more mandatory member- viz the chief guest. And the host welcomes the chief guest- the one and the only Bipasha Basu. She arrives on the stage, accompanied by background music of "back to the future". And before you have any naughty ideas, she was properly covered in a white sari, which, it appeared to me was not washed with Super Nirma. Not surprising, as she, like Mallika Sherawat, does not have any endorsements with companies that have anything to do with garments.

Participants
The kids may be only 10-12 years of age, but they appeared well versed in the manners of such reality shows. It appears that one of the kids had thrown a tantrum in yesterday's programme, like Rakhi Sawant throws in another such reality show, and had walked out of the show. The judge lectured her against such conduct- "buri baat hai", "hamare show me aisa nahi hona chahiye" etc. And if the kid was anything like kids of her age,the message fell on deaf ears ( ek kaan se sunkar doosre se nikaal diya).

Judges
Contest begins. A kid comes, and she sings a patriotic song which was at least 50 years old. I am stumped, because I have never heard this song. The judges are equally clueless, going by their facial expressions. But after the song was over, Sonu Nigam must have found out about the song by googling, and he displayed his knowledge nonchalantly by saying things like" How come you sang this song. You are a girl, this was sung by Rafi, even boys would shy away from singing such a difficult song". The girl mouths some sentences memorised by rote- viz I love this song, this is such a nice patriotic song, I always wanted to sing this song, and the jugdes go, wah wah wah wah, bahut achche, bahut acche, taaliyan. After the song, the girl requests the audience to vote for her through SMS, just like the participants do in other such programmes.

Another participant, a boy this time, comes and sings another patriotic song of equally old vintage. But I could vaguely recall having heard the song sometime in the past. And I feel so pleased about myself.

Chief guest intervenes
Then a girl participant comes, sings another patriotic song. Judges, like me, are on a strong wicket this time,as both have actually heard this song before. So, they start finding fault with the performance, something which they could not do with the earlier songs. You misspelt one word- says one judge. You lost the sur at one place,comments the other judge. Bipasha Basu, unable to take this nitpicking, compliments the girl in Bangla that she sang well, and do not get discouraged by such criticism. And it turns out that the girl is Assamese ! Does not matter, Assamese people can understand and talk in Bangla, but the two jugdes are once again stumped. Sonu Nigam tries to curry favour with Bipasha by trying to speak some Bangla, but not with much success.

Another participant sings, followed by another nitpicking by the judges on the diction of the singer. When Bipasha basu intervenes, Sonu Nigam pulls her leg ( figuratively- you naughty!) saying that yes, the singer at least did not get her "ra" and "da" mixed, insinuating that Ms Basu gets them mixed.

Then one kid came, and he sang the song "kar chale hum fida jaan o tan saathiyon" from Haqeeqat. This was one song that everyone had heard about, and everyone appreciated the singer.

Voting by public
Then audience are urged to vote for their favourites, and it turns out that whichever singers are praised the most by judges are kicked out by the audience. Lovely. I enjoyed this part ( wearing my sadistic hat) to see the expressions on the face of the judges.They express their disappointment that the best singer should be kicked out of the show. Their reaction, as well as the reaction of the public is priceless.

I will let you know when I watch another such show. May be I should watch a saas bahu serial next and present my report. So keep watching this space.

Kishore Kumar's sad/serious songs- part II

2008-08-26T08:53:00.005+05:30

When I decided to post a list of Kishore Kumar's sad/ serious songs, I thought that one post would be enough, since Kishore Kumar is associated more with happy, romantic and comedy songs and I did not think he may have sung more than a dozen or so sad songs.

But when I started digging deep, I began to find many such songs. So I decided to post them in two parts. Now that I am presenting part II, I have come to realise that even two parts are not enough to accomodate all the memorable sad/ serious songs of Kishore Kumar. And that has been quite an eye opener for me.

Kishore Kumar may have sung nearly as many tragic songs as many singers associated with this kind of songs. And I am only talking about those songs that are truly memorable and ever green.

In fact, I even found songs which are not very well known, but they deserve to be bracketed among the list of all time great Kishore Kumar songs. If they are rather unknown today, then it is mainly because these movies where these songs featured had flopped badly.

Now I have become certain in my mind that this is by no means the last part of my my lists of Kishore Kumar's sad/ serious song. I already have enough material for at least two more parts.

I had already presented some 20 memorable sad songs in part I , and here in part II, I present 20 more memorable sad songs of Kishore Kumar. Just go through the list of songs. Wow! I just cannot believe that Kishore Kumar had such a large number of such classy songs under his belt. And as mentioned earlier, there are more to come.

Song 1

Kishore Kumar, otherwise known for his funny roles and lighthearted exterior, made one funny movie "Chalti ka naam gaadi", but afterwards, he tended to make movies on serious subjects, starting from "Door gagan ki chaaon mein." I had presented one song from this movie in part I. All the songs in this movie were serious songs.Here is one more such song from this movie.

Aa chal ke tujhe (door gagan ki chaaon mein 1964) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Kishore, MD-Kishore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvtVoN_2efE

Song 2
This is one of the first sad songs that Kishore Kumar sang under the music direction of Laxmikant Pyarelal.
Ye dard bhara afsaana (Shriman Funtoosh 1965) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09z6YzXS-hA

Song 3
This was one the first sad songs sung by Kishore Kumar for Rajesh Khanna under the music direction of R d Burman. Since then. this combination churned out songs after sad songs, all memorable and evergreen, as we have already sen in part I and will see in this part too.
This song finished third in Binaca geetmala final of 1971.
Ye jo mohabbat hai ye unka hai kaam (Kati patang 1971) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

Ye jo mohabbat hai

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6jum2_ye-jo-mohabbat-hai_shortfilms

Song 4
Kishore Kumar sang most of his classic sad songs under the baton of R D Burman, but papa Burman was the one who mentored and nursed Kishore Kumar into a legendary singer. Here is a memorable sad song sung by Kishore Kumar under the baton of S D Burman and picturised on Dev Anand.
Dil aaj shayar (Gambler 1971) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Neeraj, MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQF7UEPR_UE

song 5
When most other music directors were being threatened under the onslaught of the Kishore Kumar-R D Burman hurricane, it was Laxmikant Pyarelal, who turned this threat into an opportunity and composed some memorable sad songs on Kishore in 1970s. Here is one of them.
Mere deewanepan ki bhi (Mahboob ki mehandi 1971) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHdtPvu9Dcw

Song 6
"Amar Prem" had three memorable sad songs sung by Kishore Kumar. Here is the first of them. This song was fifth in Binaca geetmala final of 1972.
Chingari koi bhadke (Amar Prem 1971) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD-R D Burman

Chingari koi bhadke

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6jjut_chingari-koi-bhadke_shortfilms

Song 7
And here is the second memorable sad song of Kishore from "Amar Prem".
Kuch to log kahenge (Amar Prem 1971) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD-R D Burman

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6jjw8_kuch-to-log-kahenge_shortfilms

Song 8
This was a Kishore Kumar song sung for an offbeat movie. This song finished 8th in Binaca geetmala final of 1972.
Ye jeewan hai is jeewan ka yahi to hai rang roop (Piya ka ghar 1972) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNHbax_kcq4

Song 9
This song finished 25th in Binaca geetmala 1973.
This song paints such a vivid picture of the protagonist leaving his familiar surroundings and venturing into the unknown. And one can visualise it even without watching the video. And the picturisation of this song on real locations is quite impressive.
Musafir hoon yaaron (Parichay 1972) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Gulzar,MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEol25DMA_Q

Song 10
Here is just one of several sad songs from the movie "Namak haraam"
Nadiya se dariya (Namak haraam 1973) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD-R D Burman

Nadiya se dariya

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6jjtp_nadiya-se-dariya_shortfilms

Song 11
And here is a memorable song from Majboor, composed by laxmikant Pyarelal. It was one of the first sad songs of Kishore picturised on Amitabh Bachchan.
Aadmi jo kehta hai aadmi jo sunta hai (Majboor 1974) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAVm2xy0W-s

Song 12
One of the most memorable songs sung by Kishore Kumar was this Laxmikant Pyarelal composition
Gaadi bula rahi hai (Dost 1974) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX92HaI2yVk

Song 13
Mili was a remake of Anand, where Jaya played the role of Rajesh Khanna. This movie had two extremely moving Kishore songs. Here is the first.
Aaye tum yaad mujhe (Mili) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Yogesh,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ubpz7ErEJg

Song 14
And here is the secong haunting Kishore Kumar song from Mili.
Badi sooni sooni hai Zindagi ye Zindagi(Mili 1975) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Yogesh, MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ocUQH-vUY

Song 15
This song was 12th in Binaca geetmala final of 1975. But I would rate him at the very top of my personal rating. This song is magic, pure magic !
O manjhi re (Khushboo 1975)Singer-Kishore,lyrics- Gulzar,MD- R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFTaTokxsdc

Song 16
It may not be mere coincidence that a large number of Kishore Kumar's songs were picturised on Rajesh Khanna. Here is another such song.
Mere naina saawn bhado (Mahbooba 1976) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXK8BQzQdic

Song 17
A superb song from "Anurodh".
Jab dard nahin tha seene mein (Anurodh 1977)Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD- Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAq9aoLFwVc

Song 18
and here is another song from "Anurodh".
Aate jaate khoobsoorat awara galiyon mein (anurodh 1977)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIdk4P6zY8M

Song 19
Kalyanji Anandji, another survivor of Kishore Kumar-R D Burman onslaught, makes good use of Kishore Kumar's talent in this song. This song topped the list of hit songs in Binaca geetmala final of 1979.
O saathi re (Muqaddar ka Sikandar 1978) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Anjaan,MD-Kalyanji Anandji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9GmzGsybk0

Song 20
This movie was made with such hype by the makers of Sholay that one felt this was going to be the biggest blockbuster of all time. But when the dust settled, the only thing that survived from this disaster called "Shalimar" was this memorable song.
Hum bewafa hargiz na they (shaalimar 1978)Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_MyD5I1D1w

Mad ads and fads in India in 1960s and70s-part II

2008-08-22T21:20:00.008+05:30

After sartorial fashions, we were subjected to a different kind of fashion. It was not associated with clothes, but with physical appearance. People were subjected to the magazines ads of bullworker where skinny 95 pound kids were shown getting transformed into a clone of Arnold Schwarzenegger in 14 days, else your money back. And at Rs 273/- for one bullworker set ( including VPP charges), it was lots of money those days.

But I do not think bullworker ever refunded any money. In case someone asked for their money back, they would point out fine print which the user did not follow which prevented them from bulking up, hence no refunding the amount.

Then there were ads to increase one's height. Lesser the price of the product, higher the result promised. For instance, for Rs 85/-, you could increase your height by 15 cm, where as Rs 300/- for another product increased your height only by 5 cms. Ads showed the heights of the leading film actors- Amitabbh Bachchan 188 cms, Vinod Khanna 185 cms and Dharmendra as 185 cms. Now I agree to the heights of Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna, but I cannot accept that Dharmendra was 185 cm. He looked much shorter than Vinod Khanna in the movies in which they acted together.

I wonder what has happened to those height increasing ads now a days? Instead of the average height of the leading heroes increasing, now a days, we have the leading heroes half a foot shorter than the heroes of 1970s.

Now a days those ad givers have a much easier job, if they decide to mention the height of the leading heroes of today- something like Aamir Khan 167 cm, SRK 168 cm, salman Khan 166.37 cm, etc. But considering that most leading ladies are taller than the leading heroes, there may not be too many takers for these ads now a days, what with even Rajpal Yadav becoming a celebrity that would make Mukri green with envy.

These days, we have teleshop marketing on TV, in which foreigners tell us, in dubbed Hindi, how they were losers in their lives and how buying the teleshop product made them winners.

I think I have digressed a great deal. It was like going from Bombay to Goa and landing at Kashmir. There was actually a bollywood movie in which it happens.

What I wanted to say was that all these improve your height or get bulky ads required you to sweat out a lot, in addition to parting with your hard earned money. And we Indians being the way we are, we want things for free without sweating it out in the process, and we want results instantly. And "martial arts" offered exactly that. It promised people that they need not improve their height or physique, but they could still thrash big built people by making use of martial arts.

Mainstream audience would not go for "English movies", unless it promised some eye candy. And in case of desi movies, they would keep away from "art" movie. So it was a big paradigm shift for people when they began to throng for movies that were in "English" and moreover they were called art movies- viz "Martial art" movies.

It was the first time in India when tickets of a non desi movie were actually sold on black even in smaller cities, like the one where I was growing up in those days. These movies, called "Enter the dragon", followed by "Return of the dragon" had a skinny hero called Bruce Lee, who was regarded as the best martial art expert in the world. Of course, he was already dead by that time, and that helped add to his legend. Indians could for the first time identify themselves with a hero who was of similar built as compared to most movie goers, and that must have enabled the audience to feel a rapport with him, which they never felt with big built Western actors. Chinky looks suddenly became fashionable.

And believe it or not, people who earlier used to adopt boxing pose while in a street brawl, began to adopt "martial arts" pose while fghting. And in absence of background "dishum dhishum" noise, they would make this noise themselves, accompanied by the yelling, which every self respecting martial artist was required to use as part of his arsenal. No, I am not making this up. I have actually seen people fight in a "martial art" or in more simple terms- "judo Karate" method.

Bollywood too tried to jump into the bandwagon. The resident chinky Danny was roped into a few movies. One new chinky looking actor, Ardhendu Bose, who also had the formidable credentials of being the nephew of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, was signed in a movie. But all these ventures failed.

There was a vacuum in Bollywood movies.Bollywood badly needed a desi Bruce Lee.

In came Mithun da. He proved a package deal. Front stallers could readily identify with him as he looked like one of their own. And he was supposedly trained in martial arts, and looked more convincing in fight scenes than say Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar and Dev Saab. And that was enough of a credential for Mithun da to become public's desi Bruce Lee.

In addition, Mithun Da, in between his fights, would also dance ( pronounced as "dense" by him) gyrating around his pelvis. So he got the additional sobriquet of desi John Travolta as well.

Not content with that, his film makers would cast him as top secret agent too. His designation with the word "TOP SECRET AGENT" would be written in big bold letters on his car. In short, Mithun da was Bruce Lee, John Travolta and James Bond, all rolled into one. What more do you want ? His fans simply loved him. The less charitable fans and critics called him poor man's Amitabh Bachchan.

So that sums up my discussion for the day. I will be back for more, obviously.

Mad ads and fads in India in 1960s and 70s- part I

2008-08-22T21:03:00.006+05:30

When I was a young kid a few years old in mid to late 1960s, I noticed that "twist" was a craze among the happening crowd. People would wear tight pants and swivel over the front of their left toe, as if crushing a cigarette butt with their toes, their hands hanging behind their back. This was how one twisted. Bollywood movies those days had a dance scene showing a twist, which was like an item song. One popular "twist" song sung by Manna Dey was "aao twist karen".

People, both men and women, at least in movies, wore very tight dresses. Just look at the Salwar Kurta that bollywood actresses wore those days. To this day I have not yet understood how they managed to get inside such dresses, and once inside, how did the blood circulation fare in their bodies. My admiration for actresses like Mumtaz goes sky high, when I see her dancing and singing with abandon in such tight outfits, and even seen enjoying them.

And as "Om Shanti Om" has shown, the fashion for women those days consisted of hairdo that now appears like Khosla ka ghosla. The women in their 20s looked like Behenjis. Look at Vijayanti Mala in 1950s or Hema Malini in 1970s, for instance.

Just as 1960s was giving way to 1970s, Hippy craze hit India, and the person who capitalised on it was Dev Anand, with his "Hare Rama Hare Krishna". People would keep long hairs and that was called hippy cut.

On the other end of the spectrum was Rajesh Khanna. Though his pants were tight, he would wear Kurta ( or shirt that looked like Kurta to me), and would remain untucked. It was called Baba kurta, I have no idea why this name was given to this dress. But he was the superstar, and his mannerisms and dress had millions of adherents.

When Rajesh Khanna was upstaged by Amitabh Bachchan, we suddenly saw the hair style of people changing. Everyone would instruct the barber to cut his hair in Amitabh style, even though Mukri style may have suited them better. When emergency came, Hippy style (mentioned earlier) became untenable. One of the emergency excesses was on Hippy cut hairs. policemen would round up hippy cut youths and have their hair cut short. I feel that their orders must have been to round up eve teasers, and they decided that eve teasers were those who wore hippy cut, so all people with hippy cut hairs had to pay the price.

Not just fans, even other leading actors like Shashi Kapoor etc started sporting Amitabh Bachchan's hair style. In case Amitabh Bachchan had to be shown growing up as a child, that child too would sport the same Amitabh Bachchan hairstyle- for instance, look at Muqaddar ka Sikandar, where master Mayur, playing young Amitabh has the same hairstyle. I suggest that we should make a movie with Amitabh in lead role called Muqaddar ke Sikandar ka Shahanshah, and in this the kid playing childhood role of Amitabh should sport the same hair style, and in addition, he should sport a while goatee as well, lest viewer are left in any doubt.

There were people, especially in small towns ( farmaish sending towns), who would model themselves on their favourite actors. Filmy magazines often published pictures of people who resembled their idols the most. I recall a filmy magazine publishing the picture of such people, and that included one "Gondia ka Amitabh"

Stars and super stars were not the only ones who had fan following. Small budget movies,e.g. Rajshri Production movies, or those made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Bhattachharya, Basu Chatterji ( frankly I cannot tell one Basu from the other) had their own following. Amol Palekar, who played the roles of friendly next door neighbourhood youngster, was forever getting outsmarted by a street smart Asrani (Bhondu is the Hindi word that comes to my mind), like in the cartoon serial road runner show. These movies tended to have nice music and it was this which may have saved the day for these movies.

Bell bottoms also came into vogue those days. Look at the movies, and one can find actors and actresses looking ridiculous ( with hindsight), but I, who call this ridiculous now, too wore bellbottoms those days. And naturally I too looked just as ridiculous.

The fashion of bell bottoms which raged like wildfire vanished one fine day, and people no longer wanted to be seen wearing them. What is this fashion, where people suddenly start avoiding to wear that they wore proudly till the other day ? It can only be herd mentality, I am sure.

Fashion for narrow pants was there for a couple of years and then a milder form of bell bottom threatenred to make a comeback, and it did for some time.

And during those days, some other types of fashion were also emerging that would soon take the nation by storm.

Ravi- composer of iconic songs in Bollywood movies

2008-08-21T19:16:00.014+05:30

1950-60 was the era when Bollywood had an embarrasment of riches as far as quality music directors were concerned. There were so many of them that it was difficult to keep track of all of them unless you were a statistian or a historian of Bollywood music. The songs that they composed are popular to this date. Sometimes we may remember the songs and hum them, without being aware about who the music director was. The present generation have heard about the more prominent among them, but even those whose names are not that well known gave us songs that are very well known.

One of the lesser known music director from that era was Ravi. Like Roshan,he bacame popular by his first name whereas His full name was Ravi Shankar Sharma.He started his career in Hindi movies in 1955 with "Vachan" and his last movie was as late as 1990 in a movie called "Aulad ki Khatir". In addition, he gave music in some Gujarati and Malayalam movies as well in 1980s for which he got best music director's award for the state Governments of Gujrat and Kerala as well.For all practical purposes he can be treated as a music director of 1950-70 ( the golden era) though he gave us some good music in as late as 1980s as well.

He may be lesser known today, but when I looked at the list of his popular songs, I was simply amazed.There are quite a few movies under his music direction, where almost every song ( not just one or two) were huge hits and are popular even today. For example movies such as Chaudhavin ka chand(1960),Waqt( 1965), Kaazal(1965),Do Badan ( 1966), Hamraaz ( 1967),Ankhen ( 1968), Ek phool do mali ( 1969)had Ravi's music and almost every song( there used to be 7-8 or more songs in each movie in those days) is popular. These movies were hits, and Ravi's music played a role in making them hits.

In fact, Ravi gave some memorable music even in movies that have been long forgotten.For example, who remembers now that there were movies called Ek Saal(1957),Dilli Ka Thug( 1958), aaj aur kal ( 1963) and Ustadon ke ustad( 1963). The only reason why these movies are still remembered is because of their songs.

Ravi had a long career, spanning over three decades. There have been very few music directors enjoying such long and fruitful career. Here is a list of some of the most memorable songs that Ravi has composed ( or help compose, e.g. in case of the first song). There were many memorable songs that I had to omit from my list.

Here are some of the more memorable contributions of Ravi in Bollywood filmy music

Song 1
Man dole mera tan dole(Nagin 1954)-

http://www.youtube.com/v/WQRtsyNq1lU

No, Ravi was not the music director of this movie, Hemant Kumar was, but Ravi was his assistant in this movie. The been music in the Nagin song was played by Ravi on harmonium. There is a general misconception among fans that Kalyanji had played that on claviolin ( a new instrument- that could be called a synthesiser of that time). He was playing the claviolin but the main tune was on harmonium played by Ravi and not on claviolin. Kalyanji was called only for the tone. Ravi was the chief assistant, rather only assistant of Hemant Kumar and he was the incharge of this song. This fact was brought out by Ravi in a very long freewheeling interview on Vividh Bharati. When Hemant Kumar got the prize of the best music director of the year, he went down to the rear of the hall where Ravi was seated and handed over the trophy to Ravi saying that Ravi too deserved to share this award.
This song finished in Binaca geetmala top three in two consecutive finals- viz 1954 and 1955.

Song 2
Chanda Mama door ke (Vachan 1955)Singer-Asha,Lyrics-Prem Dhawan, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJtk-NWaiA8
This was the debut movie of Ravi as a movie director and he delived this song that became one of the first great lullabies to come from Bollywood movies. In this same movie he also composed a song that became popular with beggars all over the country, viz "Ek paisa dede babu". In fact, almost all songs of this movie became very popular at that time.

Song 3
Sab kuch luta ke hosh mein aaye to kya kiya (Ek Saal 1957)Singer-Talat, Lyrics-Prem Dhawan,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix5drLCN9lw
An iconic tragic song, as everyone would readily agree. It was the first time Ravi worked with Talat, and the result was this fantastic song.

Song 4
CAT cat, cat maane billi (Dilli ka thug 1958) Singer- Asha, Kishore, Lyrics-Majrooh, Ravi

CAT cat maane billi

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6i6i8_cat-cat-maane-billi_shortfilms

And this was the first time Ravi worked with Kishore Kumar. The result was several outstanding comedy songs in this movie sung and acted by Kishore, ably supported on screen by Nutan, and on playback singing by Asha Bhosle. Other memorable songs from this movie being- "hum to muhabbat karega" and "ye raatein ye mausam, nadi ka kinara". This song finished second in Binaca geetmala final of 1958.

Song 5
Chaudhvin ka chand ho ya aftab ho ( Chaudhvin ka chand 1960) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXPsXPLYSpk
Producer Guru Dutt had signed Shakeel Badayuni as lyricist, but Ravi wondered if Shakeel Badayuni would agree to work in a movie without Naushad. But Shakeel Badayuni agreed and put Ravi at ease by grabbing his hands and telling him- "maine baahar kahin kaam naheen kiya hai, mujhe sambhaal lena" (I have never worked in outside movies .So please cover up for me.) And the result of this partnership between a nervous lyricist and a nervous music director was a spectacular musical blockbuster.
This sond finished at number 2 in Binaca geetmala final of 1960.

Song 6
Ek woh bhi diwali thi ek yeh bhi diwali hai( Nazrana-1961)Singers-Lata,Mukesh, Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI7-6rE4Ap0

Need one say anything about this song ?

Song 7
Wafa jinse ki, bewafa ho gaye ( Pyar ka saagar-1961)Mukesh, Lyrics-Prem Dhawan, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYwBeq7yNKU

Ravi used Mukesh's voice sparingly, like Talat and Kishore's voice heard earlier, but when he used them, he made their voices count.

Song 8
Ai mere dile naadaan tu gham se na ghabraana (Tower House)-Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Asad Bhopali,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2EznrCj7kU
Surely this song is a music aficionado's delight.

Song 9
Yeh wadiyan, yeh fizayen bula rahin hain tumhe (Aaj aur kal 1963) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Sahir,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57NJ3IyEro4

Fantastic!

Song 10
Sau bar janam lenge( Ustadon ke ustaad 1963)Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Asad Bhopali,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/v/MzJJG0PZR60

A divine voice at its most divine.

Song 11
chalo ek baar phir se ajnabi ban jaayen hum dono (Gumrah 1963)Singer-Mahendra Kapoor, Lyrics-Sahir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE5q9kst-Zc

Creating great songs using the voice of great singers is alright, but Ravi could make the most of the voices of less gifted singers too. For instance, it is Ravi who utilised Mahendra Kapoor's voice the best. This song is just one of the earliesr example of this fact.

Song 12
Chhoo Lene Do Nazuk Honthon Ko (Kaajal 1965) Singer-Rafi , Lyrics- Sahir, MD- Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce2Fzj7RxE4
Every song in this movie was hugely popular.

Song 13
If Lata/ Asha ever had a Deevar like showdown about singing Rakhi songs, and Lata says- I have sung a great rakhi song like-"Bhaiya mere rakhi ke bandhan ko nibhana", what rakhi song have you sung, haain ?. Then Asha can calmly point at this song.
Mere bhaiyya mere anmol ratan (Kaajal 1965)Singer-Asha, Lyrics-sahir, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6QznPepMao

Song 14
Incidentally, this movie is a musical treasure trove. In addition to the above two all time great songs for dipsomaniacs and Rakhi tying sisters,It had an alltime great bhajan too,
Tora man darpan kahlaaye (Kaajal 1965)Singer-Asha, Lyrics-sahir, MD-Ravi

Song 15
Ae meri zohra zabeen (waqt 1965)Singer-Manna Dey,Lyrics-Sahir, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlXGVH2KMZ8

What a mast song ! It give one goosebumps every time one listens to it.
Waqt was the first multistarrer movie of Bollywood after Kismat (1943). It was thought that a word like "zabeen" would turn off listeners from this song, but that was not to be. It became perhaps the most popular song of the movie where every song was popular.

Song 16
Aage bhi jaane na tu(waqt 1965)Singers-Asha,Mahendra Kapoor,Lyrics-Sahir,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM7VR9JS-BA
Another very popular song from Waqt. Incidentally, this movie was the one that pioneered the lost and found formula where familiy members would be lost in a tragedy only to unite in the last reel.

Song 17
Gareebon ki suno (Dus lakh 1966)Singers-Rafi,Asha,Lyrics-Prem Dhawan,MD-Ravi

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6i8a0_gareebon-ki-suno-dus-lakh-1966_shortfilms

Just as beggars were despairing, having to sing old songs, they got this brand new song which became their anthem all over the nation, and local train commuters in Bombay those days would readily vouch for this fact.

Seriously, there were quite a few nice songs in this movie, as was usual in most movies with Ravi as the music director.

Song 18
Lo aa gayi unki yaad( Do Badan 1966) Singer-Lata, Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gLNF_Cm40g

There were half a dozen memorable songs in this movie, and this is just one of them.

Song 19
Neele gagan ke tale (Humraaz 1967) Singer-Mahendra Kapoor, Lyrics-Sahir, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN5rCSdgOQw

This suspense movie ironically became a hit not because of its story, but because of its songs. This movie provided Mahendra Kapoor with his finest moments in his singing career. I recall this song and other songs from this movie being played on loudspeakers on carts selling ice cream in those days, it was that popular with ice cream vendors.

Song 20
Babul ki duayen leti jaa, jaa tujhko sukhi sansaar mile ( Neel kamal 1968)Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Sahir, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPs76F09OV8

This mother of all bidaai songs ( or should it be the baap of all bidaai songs ?) was Ravi's composition. A song that has transcended the barriers of time and this song continues to be uppermost on the mind of every bride's baap in Indian weddings.

Incidentally, there was a very popular timepass song in this movie too that went "khali dibba khali bottle lelo mere yaar".

Song 21
Milti hai zindagi me muhabbat kabhi kabhi ( Aankhen 1968)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Sahir,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqyhOnTYths

Song 22
Tumhari nazar kyun khafa ho gayi (Do kaliyan)Singers-Rafi,Lata, Lyrics-Sahir, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isz8ic5npjA
A nice duet song in a movie which had a story of twin siblings. This double role was played by Ranbir Kapoor's mom, who was a kid at that time.

Song 23
Tujhe sooraj kahoon ya chanda (Ek phool do mali 1969)Singer-Manna Dey,Lyrics-Prem Dhawan,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3dx3G9R3A8
I can count 8 very popular songs from this movie, and this moving song is just one of them.

Song 24
O Neele parbaton ki dhara (aadmi aur Insaan 1969) Singers-Asha, Mahendra Kapoor, Lyrics-Sahir, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGzg__mbhFY
Like many other movies of Ravi, it had quite a few nice songs.

Song 25
Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai (Aadmi Sadak Ka,1977)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Sahir Ludhianvi,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6q3DMArO5Q
Another very popular song for Indian weddings

Song 26
Dil ki ye aarzoo thhi (Nikaah 1983)Singers-Mahendra Kapoor,Salma Agha,Lyrics-Hasan Kamaal, MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E6LRjzP-pY

The topic of this movie was not a mainstream topic for a bollywood movie ( unlike 1960s), and public taste had undergone a sea change, still Ravi came up with songs that became very popular, and this song finished at number 2 in Binaca geetmala 1983 final, ahead of another Nihaah song at number 3 ( Dil ke armaan aansuon mein bah gaye).

India in Olympics-proposed plan

2008-08-18T12:46:00.003+05:30

Enough of looking back at Indian sports in the past. Let us look ahead. For the last four Olympic games, Indians have been managing to win one medal each, and the medal's metal is improving too. If it was bronze in 1996 and 2000, it was a silver in 2004 and gold in 2008.

But one medal in one Olympics is just not good enough. It is time when India sports authorities did some thinking.

Knowing fully well that Indian authorities are not likely to exert themselves in such strenuos tasks like thinking, planning, etc, I have done all the hard work for them. So ladies and gentlemen, here is my master plan.

Ancient Olympic games only had individual games. Modern Olympic games too should have included only individual games, but the Olympic movement has been vitiated by the inclusion of team games. With the inclusion of many modern games, each with their own rules, Olympics games no longer offer a level playing field for participants of different disciplines.

For example, look at a team game vis a vis an individual game. In football or Hockey, about two dozen people and officilas huff and puff for many matches before coming up with one medal. On the other hand, an individual game like swimming offers individuals the chance to win many medals. Surely one cannot say that a team winning Hockey of football gold is aless worthy Olympian than someone like Michael Phelps or Mark Spitz. So it makes sense to expend one's energy in individual events rather than team events. If one looks at the most successful Olympic nations, they indeed have adopted this plan.

But even the individual games cannot be said to have level playing fields either. In swimming, we have different events, where you are required to swim differently ( freestyle,backstroke, breaststroke etc) and for different distances and each of these events have medals. Often the same swimmer can participate in many of these events. On the other hand, sports like boxing, wrestling,weightlifting etc have entirely different rules. Here one individual can only participate in one event, but there are many events based on weifght categories, and a team can have participants in all these weight categories. Now, it is not as if the boxing methods are any different for the different categories, so why should we have people of different weight categories take on opponents of similar weight only. Why the same principle should not be followed in atheletics, for instance.In atheletics too, we have huge discuss throwers from European countries having undue adbnatage over small built South Asians. Why not have different weight categories in throwing events too? Then I am sure cricket playing nations from the Indian subcontinent may find a few of their players in the podium in the lighter weight categories.

But I agree that old habits die hard. Indians and their neighbours are so used to playing cricket that they will find it difficult to take to individual games, so instead of turning bowlers with congenitally defective elbows into javelin throwers, why not try and get cricket itself into Olympics. If team sports like Hockey, football etc can be played in Olympics, then why not cricket?

But while trying to get cricket introduced in Olympics, the ICC ( BCCI by default) should not make the same mistake as Hockey or football bodies do. BCCI should try and ensure that there are many sets of medals available in cricket events,like in individual sports. Having many sets of medals in a team game like cricket will be possible, if we can have different formats of limited overs cricket in Olympics. Thus we can have T20, F15, T10 and F5. This is not my idea incidentally. This was the idea of my friend Raja. So I hereby call this idea Raja Babu method of playing cricket ( Raja Babu sounds similar to Duckworth Lewis, and it incidentally is also the name of a tharki Bollywood movie starring Govinda).

OK, if this idea goes through and gets implemented, what is going to happen ? We may find out that India may once again find themselves on the lurch as teams like Korea, Argentina, Netherlands etc may soon catch on and start beating India the way they have started beating India in Hockey these days. Just as England's T20 euphoria evaporated as Chris Broad's over went for six sixes, Indian euphoria with IPL may vanish ( of it has not vanished already) once T20 and its lower variants become Olympic events.

What to do then. I have another plan. and this draws inspiration from events of weightlifting, boxing etc. Just as we have these individual sports based on weight, let us have the team sports of cricket played on the basis of height. There could be cricket events for three height categories- viz short ( players below 5'6"), medium ( 5'6" to 6'), and tall ( over 6' tall players). This will not only ensure that the number of sets of medal will triple ( 3 sets of medals for T20, F15, T10 and F5 each), it will also ensure that India will stand some reasonable chances in the lower height categories. I can visualise Australia, South Africa etc struggling to put up playing XIs in the short category. But Indians should not get complacent. Team like Bangladesh may really become a powerhouse and capitalise in the F5 (short) category.

I would have given this method of playing cricket my name, but I could not come up with the name of a suitable bollywood movie including my name and featuring a tapori set of actors. So I have decided to name this method on a movie featuring another set of tapori actors. Yes, I hereby name this method of playing cricket as Munna Bhai method of playing cricket.

India in Olympics- In the past

2008-08-18T12:35:00.003+05:30

For those who have followed India fortune in Olympics for many decades, Indians used to pride themselves that they were the best in the world in Hockey, and that would cover up for their ineptitude in other sports. In typical India style hype, handed over to us for hundreds of generations, we were also told that Milkha Singh was the best runner in the world ( unfortunate not to win a medal). But the biggest hype that we were fed was that Dara Singh, the wrestler was the strongest man in the world, and if he did not participate in Olympics then it was because he was a professional. Another version was that Dara Singh did not participate in Olypics because it was beneath his dignity to participate among such lowly opponents.

Come 1970s and India stopped winning gold in Hockey too. And in any case Indians were just not good enough in any other Olympic sports. During those days, India had won three test series in a row, and some Indian fans actually thought that India was the number 1 cricket team in the world.

Come 1974, and Indian team was beaten black and blue in England. The fact that Indians did not have a pace bowler hurt their cause badly, as even mediocre batsmen made merry against the Indian bowling attack. Indian spinner Chandrashekhar was the quickest bowler in the side.It is like Kumble being the quickest bowler in the present day team, that is how pedestrian the Indian pace bowling attack used to be.

India sucking in Hockey as well as cricket meant that India sports fans were a dejected lot. The negative thinkers were on to their familiar rhetoric- " We are world's second most populous nation, and we cannot win a medal. Look at small nations, they win so may medals." Others would say that India did not win medals because there was so much poverty, and so much corruption in the country.But there were countries poorer and more corrupt than India that were doing better than India in Olympics. So it would be said that Indians were weak because of their dietary habits, for instance they did not eat meat in general and beef in particular. But then our neighbouring countries which had no such dietary taboos were not doing any better than India in Olympics either. Then apologists would point out that Pakistanis had fast bowlers in their ranks and Indians did not have.

Some fans actually thought that Dara Singh, the strongest man in the world, should be included in the Indian cricket team to bowl fast. Experts said that it was not a wise move, because in cricket you do not have to wrestle with the ball.

Just as there was this myth about Dara Singh being the strongest man in the world, there was this counter myth that Muhammad Ali, the heaveyweight boxer was a Pakistani. My argument that he was an American, cut no ice with my school mates, who simply refused to believe me.

Then there were the proponents of past Indian glory who would suggest that India was the greatest country in the world in all spheres, including sports in the past, and it was the conspiracy of the European invaders like British etc that the native know how and skills in all fields, including sports was lost.

Another suggestion was that India would certainly do well if Indian native games like kabaddi, khokho, marbles etc were included in Olympics.

What about the thinking in the official circles? The IAS babus sitting in the corridor of powers would ensure their smooth and unobtrusive participation in Olympic games as officials, whereas the actual players would be running from pillar to post,first to willy nilly qualify, and then to get the paperworks ready.

Qualifying for the Olympics was the main aim of the players. If players of other teams thought about qualifying for finals in the Olympics,then India players thought well in advance, and finished their thinking well in advance too. The thought uppermost in their minds was to somehow achieve the qualifying mark which was arbitrarily set low enough, something like the mark achieved by third place finisher in the previous Olympics or so. And interesingly, a few of the participants actually managed to "meet" these marks. Of course, once they actually participated in the Olympics, they would come nowhere near the mark that helped them qualify for the Olympics.

The Indian officials and media maintained that participation in Olympics would give Indian sportsmen good exposure that would help them gain experience. Was Olympics about winning or about getting experience and exposure ? Gaining experience and exposure for what ? For Asian games ? But such rubbish was actually bought by all without any murmurs.

There was a "celebrated" case in 1984 Olympics when one Indian weighlifter qualified to participate in a certain weight category, but when it was time for his participation in his event, he was found overweight. And what did the Indian contingent do? They fielded him in the next higher weight category. Simple !

Having discussed Indian Olympic efforts in the past, I will discuss what Indian needs to do in future, in my next article.

Card games and I

2008-08-16T14:06:00.003+05:30

When I was growing up in 1960s and 70s, playing cards were considered bad in many "respectable" circles. In fact playing card games was considered as synonymous with gambling. As a result, I never had any exposure to cards, a nice and properly brought up kid that I was.

I was finally introduced to playing cards in 1980s in my hostel, and the card game that was popular among card players was bridge. Us freshers were given a list containing rules of bridge by our seniors, and we were required to learn them. There were some of us who were already exposed to cards and bridge, and their expertise was much in demand among the other freshers. We would seek these knowledgeable people out and request them to enlighten us. They would condescend to help out, but for a consideration. Their charges were - cad ( cadbury chocolate), double omelette and other such goodies.

Despite the crash course we underwent, there were some who found the rules more difficult to crack than a jigsaw puzzle.They would memorise the bridge rules by rote, without actually understanding them, and hoping that their learning by rote would help them pass muster with the seniors.

And this was not the only thing we were supposed to learn. We were also given the rules of billiards and snooker to learn. But that discussion will have to wait for some other day.

I had great difficulty understanding the concept of suit and colour, bid and trick,deal and trump etc. When I finally managed to have an idea what a suit was, I found myself struggling to remember the terms for them. I had heard of hindi terms like "paan, "eent" "chidi" and "faawda" in my younger days when exposed to such talk by some less reputable school mates. But associating them with their English equivalent terms turned out to be a giant mental step for my limited mental faculties.

Having learnt about suits and colour the hard way, it was the turn to grapple with bidding. We were given the rules of bidding in what was called strong club, semi strong diamond convention, which was suitably amended in house and renamed as CCC. The acronym shall remain unexpanded to public, the hint is that none of the C's stood for cricket.

I was among those who just crammed the rules and managed to pass muster. I never put this "knowledge" to practice.

A few years later, I finally got interested in playing brigde, and I brushed up on the CCC rules once again, and started hobnobbing with bridge players. Initially I would just watch the experts in action from the sidelines, hoping to pick up valuable tips on how to play the game.

After a period of apprenticeship, I was finally offered the chance to be one of the players. Boy, I felt like a debutant Indian cricketer who finally gets selected in the playing XI.

Cards were shuffled ( fentna was the hindi term) and then dealt ( baantna). I got my 13 cards and tried to arrange the cards spreading them into a fan like structure, as I had seen others doing. And I started sweating. The cards seemed to stick to each other and would not come to the V shaped figure that the other participants managed with such ease. Manging to make the cards took like an untidy fanlike shape, with a few cards looking like they would slip off any time, my next worry was to find out what carrds I actually had. All the cards were in left hand i a haphazard way.. Others would bid and I would struggle to make head or tail of my cards.

Keep the cards of one suit together, came the friendly advice. Yes, it was a very good advice, why did not I think of it earlier?

My bidding would often be wrong and my partners, never very patient men, would give me a mouthful of their tongue lashing. In case our team won the bid, my partner would be the active player and I the dummy, literally as well as figuratively, and I had little role in that hand. But in case the opponents won the bid, then I had to be an active player. I would not know which card to play. "You should have played that card, I had such good cards of the other suit to take advantage of, if only you had played that card"- this was a standard criticism I would cop from my partner.

I was always amazed how other players in general, and my partner in particular always knew what card I needed to play, and if our team lost, it was always because of me.

But I was loving the game, and when you love something, you take such pinpricks in your stride.

I began taking interest in the saturday English paper where there was one bridge column and one bridge game would be discussed. I started reading that. I started cutting that clipping every saturday. In fact, I began to look for bridge articles on all news papers and sports magazines. I even bought bridge books when I went to bigger places like say Calcutta or Delhi.

But the published games showed who had what cards, and what cards were left after a few tricks. In real life contests, I as a player had no way of knowing who had what cards. Others appeared to guess the cards of others, and even knew who had what cards left. I could never acquire that ability to visualise the cards.

Once a bridge tournament was held in the hostel, and I too decided to participate. The most dificult part was to find a partner. Seeking a good player as partner When you were not good enough as a bridge player took guts, and it was like an ineligible bachelor going around proposing to eligible girls.Most good players had already formed pairs and I finally managed to convince one person to be my partner.Fortunately he was a decent and a patient man. We managed to do decently well. Of course we did not go too far. I am not aware how we got eliminated. To me we seemed to have done reasonably well.

Cut to present- I no longer play bridge as that needs 4 players and those bridge enthusiasts are now spread over to various parts of the country. But that does not mean I have lost touch with cards. My daughter likes to play cards. She has learnt one card game from my wife ( no idea what it is called) which can be played by any number of players. Here one starts with a card ( say 7 of diamond or 7 of other suits) and every participant has to play the next higher or lower card available with them. The person who disposes off all his cards wins, people left with cards get points depending on cards left with them. Player who has the lowest points after a few rounds wins.

I am not interested in the game, but I am dragged into playing. "We will play only 15 rounds", my daughter assures me.

If I deal the cards, the two would accuse me of giving them bad cards. "I have got two kings", one would say, "and I have got two", another would say, and I could very well see that they were lying because I would have three kings in my hand.

At the end of the 15 rounds, when I invariably finish last, the two have a hearty laugh at my expense. I tell them that the match was fixed, because the two of them were liberally exchanging information about their cards. I also tell them that these card games are like Sharjah cricket tournaments, they were like Pakistan, and I was like India. I would also threaten to pull out of these games like BCCI pulled out from Sharjah tournaments. On rare occasions when I win and one of them finish at the bottom, the loser throws lots of tantrum unlike me, the graceful loser.

Of course, pulling out of these fixed matches has never been a viable option for me, though it is not for want of trying. May be I need to do some introspection why I am so bad in cards- or as they say in cards lingo,Playing cards has never been a strong suit for me.The only way I can finish off their entusiasm for cards is if I start beating them regularly. Just as England's enthusiasm for Twenty20 cricket ended when Yuvraj hit Chris Broad for 6 sixes in an over,I need to hit their card craze for a few sixes.Yes, let me start playing bridge with them.My CCC notes, here I come.

Kishore Kumar's sad &serious songs (part I)

2008-08-12T21:18:00.018+05:30

He was almost a complete film personality, and if I had my way, I would vote for him as the bollywood star of the millenium.

Kishore Kumar as a comic actor and as singer of light hearted songs is popular not only among older generation, but also among generations who were born after Kishore Kumar had passed away. And it is no small feat for a person who left this world nearly two decades ago.

Like most people, I too was under the impression that Kishore Kumar was mostly a singer of bubbly, happy songs. When it came to sad songs, it is other singers whose names often come to our mind. Kishore Kumar sang just a few sad songs, that is all- it is the commonly held view.

I too subscribed to this view. But when I decided to research Kishore Kumar's sad songs, I was in for a surprise. I kept on discovering songs after sad songs which still have the ability to move the listeners. And the number of such songs is not just a dozen or so, there are many more such songs.

When Kishore Kumar sang happy songs, the listeners felt the joy. When a person of such sunny disposition as Kishore Kumar sang sad songs, he could make his listeners feel the pain. It would seem to me that people who sing great happy songs are capable of singing great sad songs too. It is certainly the case with Kishore Kumar.

Here, I will present a list of Kishore Kumar's sad songs. There are quite a few of them, and I will just present a few of the best such songs.

Song 1
This was perhaps the first sad song sung by Kishore Kumar.Kishore Kumar had a few happy songs as well in this movie, but it is this song that stands out even today.

Dukhi man mere (Funtoosh 1956) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Saahir, MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kijc4l056xQ

Song 2
Jhumroo was a movie in which Kishore Kumar was seen at his versatile best. He was a one man work force in this team. In addition to being an actor and singer, he was even the music director of this movie, and there were very popular happy songs in this movie, but the song that finished higest of them all in Binaca geetmala 1962 final was this song-
Koi humdum na raha (Jhumroo 1962) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Majrooh, MD-Kishore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDPb2ShfjHo

Song 3
Perhaps one of the gtreatest nostalgic songs of all time
Koi lauta de mere beete huye din (Door gagan ki chaaon mein 1964) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Shailendra, MD-Kishore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-6Pv8UaCX4&feature=related

Song 4
Awesome song on the topic of spurned love. Superb lyrics penned by Asad Bhopali.

Ajnabi tum jaane pehchaane ( Hum sab ustaad hain 1965 )Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Asad Bhopali,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pmw1FnXnOY

Song 5
Wonderful song which finished 6th in Binaca geetmala final of 1964.
Mere mahboob qayamat hogi ( Mr X in Bombay 1964) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi, MD- Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7dx3rbqXk0

Song 6
This song was sung by Rafi and Kishore separately, and the Kishore version filmed on a character artist became more popular.This song finished 17th in Binaca geetmala final of 1969.
Tum bin jaaoon kahan (Pyar ka mausam 1969)Singer- Kishore( Rafi in other version),Lyrics-Majroh,MD- R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQHpmwu46RA

Song 7
Wo shaam kuch azeeb thi (Khamoshi 1969)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics- Gulzar,MD- Hemant Kumar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQMii7u9fXw

Song 8
This philosophical song on life was 21st in Binaca geetmala final of 1970.
Zindagi ka safar (Safar)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics- Indeevar, MD-Kalyanji Anandji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAlD6zehT5E

Song 9
Another song that could move its listeners.
Jeewan se bhari teri aankhen (Safar) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics- Indeevar, MD-Kalyanji Anandji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnqKxDr7TPA

Song 10
Teri duniya se hoke majboor chala (Pavitra paapi 1970)Singer- Kishore,Lyrics-Prem Dhawan,MD- Prem Dhawan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6DytX9rpV0

Song 11
Koi hota jisko apna (Mere apne 1971) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Gulzar,MD-Salil Chowdhary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJs-hwCjy54

Song 12
Geet gaata hoon main gungunata hoon main (Laal Patthar 1971)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics- Dev Kohli, MD-Shankar Jaikishan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCFHwoU0Dos&feature=related

Song 13
Khilte hain gul yahan (Sharmili 1971)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Neeraj, MD-S D Burman

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=4kwWM8AcXdQ

Song 14
O mere dil ke chain (Mere jeevan sathi 1972) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Majrooh, MD- R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbiUFiyc5Go

Song 15
Kiska rasta deke ai dil ai saudaai (Josheela 1973)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics- Sahir,MD- R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZetCyQ7K6g

Song 16
Mere dil mein aaj kya hai (daag 1973) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Sahir,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhd4CBmhDgk

Song 17
Meri bheegi bheegi si (Anamika 1973) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Majrooh, MD- R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5i7Jbo6ahg

Song 18
Zindagi ke safar me guzar jaate hain jo mukaam (Aap ki kasam 1974)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics- Anand Bakshi,MD- R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlrPmoHBhSo

Song 19
Ghungroo ki tarah bajta hi raha hoon main (Chor Machaye Shor 1974) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics-Ravindra Jain, MD-Ravindra Jain

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=4mXVxQIs7NQ

Song 20
Mera jeewan kora kaagaz (Kora kaagaz 1974) Singer-Kishore, Lyrics- M G Hashmat, MD- Kalyanji Anandji

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=81v-RHKZbiw

My encounters with mice- part I

2008-08-10T16:08:00.005+05:30

Dogs, cats, horses etc are animals that mankind have domesticated over the last few thousands years, but mice appear to have moved in with them uninvited, like refugees. And these mice have continued to torment mankind ever since.

Conventional wisdom has it that women are afraid of mice, but men are not. I think this wisdom is not entirely true. I am a male and I was afraid of mice as a young kid. Of course, admitting to it was a different matter altogether.

Women can actually admit to it and demonstrate it when opportunity presented itself, that they were afraid of mice, and everybody would accept it as a matter of course.But a man cannot admit to it without running the risk of being ridiculed.

Well, as I said, I was afraid of mice, but I managed to hide it ( I feel) by putting up a brave face when face to face with a mouse. In case there were other men in the house, they would take care of the mouse.

But there were cases when I was on my own, and I needed to act. I would try to ignore the mouse, hoping that it would go away and leave the house on its own. But it rarely happened. I would try to scare it off, but all that would only cause the mouse to hide behind some articles, only to come out in the open as if to mock me.

When I could no longer ignore it, I would be forced to contemplate strong action ( similar to the strong action that Govt of India threatens to take every time there is some terrorist attack in India).

I would arm myself for the war. I would wear shoes, and full trousers, and also full shirt. The head would be left unguarded, because there was good probability that the mouse would not be able to target that high. Another reason could be that helmets were not yet in use either in cricket or while riding a two wheeler. Incidentally, two wheelers those days meant bicycles, not scooters or motor bikes.

I would also wear gloves ( one could not take any chances) and carry a stick which needed to be atleast 4 feet long.

Suitably armed like this, I would cautiously approach towards the battle field which was the space behind some furniture in the house. I would move the stick in air menacingly, hoping to score a few browny points over the mouse. I would detect no reaction from the opposition. I would hit the floor with my stick in the general direction where the mouse could be hiding. No reaction.

I would move the furniture around hoping to clear the room a bit for freer movement of the arm. Suddenly I would jump in the air in a reflex action, and the mouse would scurry around to the other corner of the room, missing me my millimeters. Despite my nervousness, I would manage to have a glimpse of the mouse vanishing behind books.

That would really make me uncomfortable. Mouse eating off my prized possessions viz magazines ( Chandamama, Lotpot, Nandan, Indrajal comics, Manoj Bal pocket books etc) was something too painful to even imagine. I needed to do something and fast to protect the books.

I would move towards the books gingerly, and hit the stick against the wall, trying to make the mouse run away from the books. I would even leave one corner free offering the mouse free passage to escape. Like Indian government dealing with terrorists, I fully respected the rights of the mouse.

It appeared to me that the mouse was not interested in my generous offer. More than the mouse, it would put me a tight corner, as then I would become obliged to carry out my threat. I would go to the book shelf, and remove some books, and then jump up in the air, startled. There was the mouse, hiding behind that very book.By the time my airborne frame would land back on the ground, the mouse would have run away.

Sigh of relief, the mouse has run away from the house, I would rationalise and start relaxing. My feelings would be mixed. Certainly it was a stalemate. It would have been better had I managed to kill the mouse instead of just scaring it away. But just like the Indian bowlers did not know where from their next wicket was going to come from, I too had no idea how I was going to notch my first kill against a mouse.

Just as I would almost forget all about the mouse, it would reappear again. By that time I was in no doubt that the mouse had sized me up and was regarding me as a pushover. Big mistake, Mr Mouse,one should not underestimate one's opponent. Like the Indian cricketers, the mouse would tend to become complacent. I would aim at the mouse with my stick, and miss it entirely. The mouse would run away, and again hide, this time behind a huge box.

I would go to the box, and push the box against the wall with all my strength, and I would continue to keep pushing for many minutes. No movement from behind the box. I would pull the box away from the wall, and search for the mouse. There is nothing on the floor. There is nothing on the wall either. Where has the mouse gone? Suddenly, I would jump up in air, startled, as I would notice the mouse hiding on the side of the box. The mouse would run away again, and this time behind the books.

This time I would not pause, I would go to the bookshelf and push the thick book under which the mouse had vanished. I would keep pressing it against the wall for some time. Carefully, I would release the pressure, and then remove the book. This time, just as I was on the verge of jumping up again, I would manage to control myself. There it was, the mouse had got squashed between the book and the wall. And it was not merely dead, it was most sincerely dead, as they say in the "Wizard of the oz".

My chest would swell a few inches, and I would feel like Vetaal ( Phantom)feels just after vanquished an army of baddies singlehandedly. This time my feeling would be unalloyed. I managed to kill a mouse. A 'mouse', can you believe it. No one ridicules Atul and gets away with it. The mouse learnt it the hard way, let it be a lesson for other mice of the world. Hopefully, this would send a strong message to the other mice that I was not to be trifled with.

I would feel happy with myself and with the world. I would tear a piece of paper from an old newspaper, and carefully wrap it around the tail of the mouse, ready to run away, in case the mouse miraculously came back to life. Luckily it would not. I would lift the mouse triumphantly by its tail, and pose with it for the benefit of non existent cameras. Then I would go out of the house, and give my body a rotation , like a discuss thrower, and in a discuss thrower's motion, throw the discuss.., I mean the mouse, away. It would only lands a few feet away, but that did not matter. What mattered was that I had finally triumphed against a mouse.

(to be continued....)

Explaining old filmstars to new generation

2008-08-06T11:47:00.007+05:30

Sholay may be a blockbuster for people of my generation, but those who were born two decades after Sholay was released are just as unimpressed with this movie as I used to be with Devdas and Mother India, movies that were released before I was born.

I tried to introduce my daughter to Sholay, and she was not impressed. I realised that she did not know any of the characters and as such she could not identify with them. Telling her the names of these actors also did not help matters. Then I got a brain wave.

"Look, that person in the movie is Amitabh Bachchan- father of Abhishek Bachchan."-I informed her.

"But he is Mr Crorepati."- She corrected me.

"Yes, he is the anchor of Kaun banega crorepati but he was a famous film hero before that."- I informed her.

"And look, that is Jaya. She is the mother of Abhishek Bachchan."- I continued.

" Crorepati's friend in the movie is called Dharmendra. He is the father of Sunny Deol,Bobby Deol and Esha Deol. And look, the tangewali is Hema Malini, mummy of Esha Deol".

Adding 2+2=4 ( she is good in maths),my daughter said-"Why dont you just tell me that she is the mother of Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Esha Deol."

"Err, she is not,... I mean..Look that is Helen. She is the mother of Salman Khan."

My daughter took a closer look, trying to find any resemblance between Helen and Salman Khan.

"And look, that is Sachin.You know him, he comes in TV serials."

"Yes, I know him", she was pleased to see someone whom she could identify from her TV watching.

"See, look at that bearded fellow Sambha,his name is McMohan and he is the uncle of Raveena Tandon. And that fellow Kaalia, he is the brother of the lady who plays the role of Principal in the serial Zabaan Sambhal ke".

By now she was getting interested by the realisation that these oldtimers were relatives of present day actors whom she knew. She brought me a piece of paper, and asked me to write which of the oldtimer actor was related to which present day actor, so that she could memorise it and later impress her friends with her knowledge of these retro actors.

I started to make entries, but soon I found myself making flow charts, where every film personality was somehow related to everyone else.

I started with Kapoors. See, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh are the papa and Mummy of Ranbir Kapoor. Randhir Kapoor and Babita are the Papa and Mummy of Karishma and Kareena. Their grandfather was Raj Kapoor, and great grandfather was Prithvi Raj Kapoor.

Realising that such explanations would be boring to her,I decided to show her some movie clips and explain to her who those people were. I showed her a clip of Tanuja, and explained that she is the mom of Kajol and saas of Ajay Devgan. Nutan, well, she is the mother of Mohneesh Bahl and mausi of Kajol. Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor are brothers of Raj Kapoor and uncles of Rishi Kapoor and Randheer Kapoor.Feroz Khan is the father of Fardeen Khan and father in law of Hrithik Roshan.Premnath, and Rajendra Nath, they are brothers, and they were the brothers in law of Raj Kapoor. Sharmila Tagore is the mom of Saif Ali Khan and Soha. And look this is Jeetendra, papa of Ekta Kapoor, who makes all those saas bahu serials that you watch like an old lady.

" But you too watch cricket on TV,papa."

" Yes, I do, but in cricket you never know the result so there is suspense. But these serials are all similar, where everyone is conspiring against everyone else."

" that is why I watch reality shows." she pointed out.

" Err.. well.. where were we, yes,we were talking about old actors."

"Papa, it means that every film actor is related to everyone else in Hindi movies."- she observed.
Even I was coming to the same conclusion. I realised that Rajendranath was related to Ashwarya Rai, and Mumtaz to Roshan through marriages that took place many decades ago, or many decades later.

When I showed her the clips of Kishore Kumar's songs of "Chalti ka naam gadi", she was hooked. She herself enquired about Kishore Kumar and she quickly grasped the fact that Ashok Kumar and Anup Kumar were his brothers, and that Amit Kumar was his son. In fact, she on her own initiative watched the entire movie, enjoying it to her heart's content. Later I showed her Kishore Kumar's songs from Asha ("eena meena deeka"), Half ticket ("chel cheel chilla ke"), and Padosan ("Ek chatur naar"). She was mightily impressed with Kishore Kumar, and I was pleased that here was one great film celebrity from the past whom even the younger generation finds worthy of admiration.

"Papa, where is Kishore Kumar now ?"
"He died 20 years ago"
"Oh", she was genuinely sorry-"How old was he?"
"He was 58."
"He should have taken better care of his health." She opined, and I wholeheartedly agreed.

"Who were the top hero and heroine those days"- She enquired.

Thinking that now I could sell her on my favourite stars from 1970s, I played a rain song filmed on Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz.

" See, this is Rajesh Khanna, father of Twinkle and father in law of Akshay Kumar. And this is Mumtaz, mother in law of Fardeen Khan."

My daughter watched the video, accompanied by the song sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata. Then she commented- "Papa, India was a poor country those day, was it not? "

" Yes, it was, but how did you know ?"

"See, Fardeen's saas is getting drenched in rain, but she does not change her clothes even once in the song. These days, people change their clothes so many times in a song even when it is not raining. Twinkle's papa is also dancing in the same clothes throughout the song."

"Well, err.. you see..Look.. here is Joy Mukherjee, uncle of Rani Mukherjee..." I exclaimed.

My experience with direct salesmen

2008-08-04T12:13:00.005+05:30

In olden days, we were confronted by salesmen only in the showroom, but these days they have become proactive, and they come to your home/ office as well.

Door to door salesmanship in India was pioneered by vacuum cleaner sellers and water purifier sellers. Then there are carpet sellers who also do their sales pitch by going door to door.

I refuse to entertain them, saying I do not want whatever item they are selling. So that rules out door to door salesmen at my home.

It leaves salesmen who approach me at the office.

Unlike other people, I just cannot make people wait. I respect everyone's time, and that includes even salesmen. So when they want to come see me, I let them in.

It appears that there is some management college in the city ( obviously nothing like IIMs) and they teach their students various skills. And one of the skills is supposed to be direct selling to customers. As practical, they are sent to various offices where they try their newly acquired knowledge of salesmanship.

It is these management students who come trying to sell things.

Here is how they do it.

Two of them approach me. They start their sales pitch- " We all need to have good general knowledge , and we need to know what is going on around us. You must know who Darwin was, you should be aware how many legs an octopus has, who had written Kalidas's Shakuntala, why sky is blue, how computers work, how a locomotive works..."

I,losing patience, state- "That is all right, but what has that got to do with your visit.."

Salespitch continues-" unless you know all these facts, you cannot answer these questions in interviews, you cannot score high marks in exams, you cannot win Rs one crore in KBC.."

I, losing patience again-" OK, I cannot do all that, and you have come to tell me my limitations ?.."

Salesmen--" One can improve one's general knowledge if one has a good book where all these information are presented in an easy to understand manner. Here is this book "Discovery facts and figures". If you buy this book in stores, it will cost you Rs 1500. But our company is committed to spreading general awareness among public. That is why this book is being offered at a concessional rate of only Rs 600."

And they take out the book from their bag with a flourish. It is a book that I have with me for the past 25 years, and in fact I have many such books with me which I purchased in the past when I was an avid book collector.

I tell them that all this salespitch is alright if you are dealing with a college student or someone who actually needs to improve his GK. All these things that they are telling me- "appearing in exams,appearing in interviews, having to know how a computer or a locomotive works" all that is old hat for me. In fact, these days I am in a position to be the examiner,interviewer,manufacturer of a locomotive etc. Moreover, I know all the facts they want me to know. And I add more information to my memory cells than what is available in these books. The stuff contained in this book are meant for school kids. The information that I seek are far too advanced to be available in a book like this.

"Well, then you can take this book for your children, or for any relatives or friends who may use it".

"I think you did not hear me. I said that I already have this book, and in fact I have similar books from many such publications that I purchased when I was a college student, which was 25 years ago." -I explain patiently.

The salesmen are obviously taught that their customers are fools and they need to be explained things very slowly and in a step by step manner. They put that book back into their bag and take out another book "Oxford English dictionary" and start telling me- " Every one needs to have a good vocabulary in English. They need to know the meaning of difficult English words such as superstition, acrimony, stupefied etc.."

"But I already know the meanings of such words and more. And I do not need a dictionary. I have as good a vocabulary as I need. I think you people did not listen carefully to what I said.I do not need to impress people by using English words memorised from a dictionary. One does not learn words from a dictionary. One learns them by reading books"- I explain.

The salesmen do not seem to believe me. Their training and exposure did not include such information. They take out another book. "We all need good careers in life. And one of the best careers is Engineering. But getting into Engineering is not easy. There is tough competition. One needs to have clear fundamentals so that one can clear entrance examinations of Engineering colleges..".

I lose my composure and ask them to get the hell out of there.

A Radio Ceylon fan from 1960s and 70s

2008-08-03T22:15:00.011+05:30

Though Jhumri Tilaiyya was the most famous of all places known for sending farmaishes, it was not the only such place. Jhumri Tilayya, a small town in Bihar ( now Jharkhand) was the only such place in that region. But most such places, known for sending farmaishes were in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Small towns in Maharashtra known for sending farmaishes were Yavatmal, Buldhana, Akola, Nanded, Parbhani, Balharshah,Gondia etc. Their Madhya Pradesh counterparts were places like Ganj Basoda,Nainpur,Mandi Bamora,Bina etc.

I always wondered what these fans were like, and what did they do in their lives apart from sending farmaishes. Also, where are they now, and what are they doing now? What follows is a brief account of one such fan whom I know personally.

The question that can be asked is, what about me? Was I not one of the radio fans ? The answer is, I was a radio fan, but I never sent any farmaishes. Moreover, I was not growing up in a small town, and most farmaishes tended to be from small one horse towns, and each of the place mentioned above was a small town, where everyone knew everyone else, and life used to be slow paced and leisurely.

I have been to most of the places mentioned above, and in fact I can vouch for the facts that life in some of these places continue to be just as leisurely and relaxed as it was 30-40 years ago.

Growing up in his small town, he caught the radio and movie songs bug in 1960s when he was in his teens. His elder brother was a fan too, but the younger brother was a much bigger fan.

He would send farmaishes in Radio Ceylon, and it was common in Aaphi ke geet to listen to, " aur Nainpur se Prakash,Mukund .."
The farmaishi letters were written by Mukund and he possessed the most important pre requisite for a successful farmaish sender- he had a superb handwriting. His handwriting looked like calligraphy, ("moti jaise akshar likhta hai" were the comments made about his handwriting), and that helped him catch the eyes of the Radio Ceylon announcers more often than many other farmaish senders.

Apart from just sending farmaishes, he was actively involved in other things associated with songs. For instance, he was an avid reader and collector of filmy magazines. He would also faithfully maintain the list of Binaca geetmala weekly countdown statistics. He maintained these records from 1970 onwards.

All these documents were kept stored in a big trunk under lock and key.

One night,when everyone was fast asleeo, a thief entered his house. Looking at the trunk with a big lock hanging on it, he thought that there must be valuables inside. He tried to lift the box. But the box was very heavy. Thinking that heavy box meant big booty, he gathered all his strength and with great difficulty, decamped with the trunk.

Hardly had the thief gone a small distance that his strength and resolve gave way, and he stumbled under the heavy weight of the trunk. The noise woke people up. "Chor, chor" was the alarm raised by people, and the thief, sensing trouble, ran for his life, leaving the trunk behind. The box lying on the ground was retrieved back. People wondered what was there inside it. When opened, one saw heaps and heaps of filmy magazines, notebooks containing details about binaca geetmala weekly positions of songs etc.

His letter writing was not just limited to sending farmaishes. He was a fan of film stars too, and he would write to many film personalities.Unlike farmaishes, his letters to film personalities did not yield much result. But he caught the eye of the singer cum actress Sharda. She became sort of like his pen friend, and she would send him Rakhi during the Rakhi festival for many years.

He had younger sisters, and like a good elder brother , he would exhort his sisters to study, and would make them open their books and study evey morning and evening. Those times were also the times when the best musical programmes would be on the air. He would have his transistor tuned to these programmes, and he would multi task- viz supervising the study of his sisters as well as listening to songs on the radio transistor. His sisters too would be distracted into listening to the wonderful songs emanating from the transistor. Noticing that, he would reduce the volume so low that his sisters would be unable to listen to the songs. As mentioned, he was an archtypical elder brother to his sisters.

In those days ( late 1960s), filmy magazines had called for applications from people who wanted to act in movies. Oldtimers would remember that Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan became actors through this method. Both sent their applications, which were accepted and they were called to Bombay to act.

Mukund too had sent his application. And unbelivably, his application was accepted too.

But that is where dreams met harsh realities of life and got shattered. Economic condition of his family was not such that they could have afforded sending him to Bombay and helping him financially. Also, his parents, though tolerating his radio listening and movie loving ways, would have none of this film acting. So that was the end of his Bollywood dreams.

Was he made of Bollywood stuff? Well, imagine a person of Amitabh's height and physique with the complexion of Mithun da. Appearance wise, he had the right credentials. In his town, he was popular, thanks to his farmaishes and other cultural activities. He was the head of the trustees of a leading temple of the town, and he was a good leader.If his aspirations of acting were confined to local dramas, then there was the option of becoming a leader. But deterioration of politics had begun in 1970s, and his simple and straighforward ways would not have taken him far in politics. For record, his maternal grandfather (Nana) was a member of parliament, and his cousin was a minister in Madhya Pradesh. So it was not as if his political aspirations would have been just a pipe dream had he decided to pick that career.

Sending farmaishes and aspiring to be a Bollywood actor were all right, but with time, he needed to decide what to do for a living. So he started applying for jobs. He got one and left his town for West Bengal.

There he became an active participant in cultural activities including Durga Puja and Kali puja.

His radio farmaish days were obviously behind him by then, but he was a big fan of cricket too ( now who in India is not a fan of Bollywood as well as cricket)?

What about his carefully collected and stored documents related to movies ? The problem with these books were that they were occupying too much space in the modest house where he lived with his parents and siblings. So the magazines gradually ended up with raddiwalas. But he resisted the efforts of his binaca notebooks to be disposed that way.

It was in 1996 or so that he suffered a string of personal tragedies, and he decided that holding on to his memories of Binaca geetmala records was not worth it, so he burnt his Binaca geetmala related notebooks.

The first time I met him and I was introduced to him was in 1996. Of course, I was not aware of his radio farmaish past at that time.

By now, we know each other well. He does not talk much about movies and songs , mainly because there are not too many people who are interested in movies and songs of that era. But he still has an encyclopaediac knowledge about songs of that era, which he displays if asked.

Ofcourse, he talks about cricket, because he finds many takers for this topic. Often, when cricket matches are in progress, he would ring me and discuss the match. Once or twice in a year, when he comes on leave, he meets me.

He is a few months short of 60 now. (How time flies)? He has an Amitabh like goatie (white in colour). I often wondered how it would be if he had to come face to face with Amitabh Bachchan. Similar appearance, similar goatie.

He is a nice and caring person, and kids adore him. I am hoping that he may have atleast kept some of his past notebooks intact. That would have been such big assets for me. I have been writing articles in internet for a few years. When I showed him one of my first articles published in a website, he felt so pleased about it and about me. He will be retiring soon, and I hope I will have enough opportunities to learn from him about the days of 1960s and 70s from his point of view.

"Minor league" singers in Binaca geetmala finals

2008-07-29T18:54:00.007+05:30

Having discussed the "major" singers, viz singers who had ten or more songs in Binaca geetmala finals, now let me discuss "minor" singers who sang less than 10 songs in Binaca geetmala finals. It is a crowded field really, and as many as 59 singers will be discussed here.

Singers with nine Binaca geetmala final songs

Talat Mahmood- He had only 9 songs in Binaca geetmala finals. But a song sung by him topped in the very first Binaca final of 1954, which was "Jaayen to jaayen kahan" from "Taxi driver".

Suman Kalyanpur- Though a talented singer, opportunities were few and far between as most music directors shied away from working with her, fearing the wrath of Lata Mangeshkar. And as a result Suman Kalyanpur finally ended up singing regional language songs. She finished as high as number 2 in the Binaca geetmala final of 1963 for the song "Dil ek mandir hai" from the movie of the same name. In all, nine of her songs appeared in Binaca geetmala finals.

Nitin Mukesh- Son of Mukesh, Nitin Mukesh managed to sing 9 songs, and his songs finished second in Binaca geetmala finals of 1979 and 1981."aaja re mere dilbar aaja " from "Noorie" in 1979 and "Zindagi ki na toote ladi" from "Kranti" in 1981 were these two songs.

R D Burman- In addition to his music, R D Burman sang some foot tapping songs as well. And though he sang only occasionally, he ended up singing as many as 9 songs that managed to appear in Binaca geetmala finals. His best finish was number 6 position in the Binaca geetmala final of 1976. This song was none other than "Mehbooba mehbooba" from Sholay.

Singer with eight songs in Binaca geetmala finals

Anuradha Paudwal- She became a leading singer in the 1980s, but as far as Binaca geetmala was concerned, she had just 8 songs in Binaca geetmala finals. Her best performance was in 1984, where the title song, "too mera Hero hai" for "Hero" was the number one song of Binaca geetmala finals that year.

Singer with seven songs in Binaca geetmala finals

Amit Kumar- Kishore Kumar's son, though blessed with a voice similar to his illustrious father, failed to emulate the success of his father. He had 7 songs in all in Binaca geetmala finals.He debuted in Binaca geetmala from "Laila main Laila" from Qurbani which was 6th in 1980 Binaca final. He was selected as the voice of Kumar Gaurav and it was in Kumar Gaurav's debut movie "Love Story" that Amit Kumar sang "yaad aa rahi hai" and this song was 4th in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1981. Alas, the failure of Kumar Gaurav subsequently not only affected the prospects of Kumar Gaurav, but also Amit Kumar, among others.

Singers with six songs in Binaca geetmala finals

Salma Agha- Salma Agha, the singer cum actress from Pakistan had 6 songs to her credit in Binaca geetmala finals, and her debut year and debut movie Nikaah in 1983 brought her most of her success, when her songs from this movie took second and third positions in Binaca geetmala final of 1983. Second position song was "dil ki ye aarzoo thi koi dilruba mile" and the third placed song was "dil ke armaan aansuon mein bah gaye". After that, it was all downhill for her, though she managed to have 3 of her songs in next year's Binaca geetmala final.

Singers with five songs in Binaca geetmala finals

S P Balasubramanyam- A playback great in South, he had only 5 songs in Binaca geetmala finals in the period under discussion. His best performance was in his debut year 1981, when his song, "tere mere beech main" for "Ek dooje ke liye", that introduced Kamal Hasan to Hindi movies, finished 5th in Binaca geetmala final of 1981.

Usha Uthup- Usha Uthup rode on the disco craze that engulfed India in late 1970 and early 1980 and she had 5 songs to her credit in Binaca geetmala finals.""Hari Om Hari" from "Pyara Dushman", so blatantly plagiarised from a western tune, was in 11th position in Binaca geetmala final of 1981, and this was her best performance in Binaca geetmala finals.

Manhar- Manhar had 5 songs ( assuming Manhar and Manhar Udhas are one and the same person) in Binaca geetmala finals. He topped the Binaca geetmala final of 1984 for the title song of "Hero" viz "Too mera hero hai".

Singers with four songs in Binaca geetmala finals

Sushma Shreshtha- She began her singing career with a bang as a child singer, when her "Hai na bolo bolo" from Andaz (1971) finished 8th in Binaca geetmala final of 1971. Her best performance was five years later when her song "Ik din bik jaayega" sung with Mukesh for Dharam Karam, fetched her second position in Binaca geetmala final of 1976. Two yeras later, her "kya hua ter waada" sung with Rafi finished third in Binaca geetmala 1978.Later, after the Binaca geetmala days, she resurfaced again under the name Poornima, and her song "Too Too, too too tara, todo na dil hamara" became a block buster in 1990s, but obviously that was after the time frame that I have set for this discussion. In all,she had a total of 4 songs in Binaca geetmala finals.

Bhupender Hazarika- I feel sorry for Bhupender. Though he has been around from 1960s, he got very few songs to sing, and his appearances in Binaca geetmala finals were confined to just four songs. His best performances were in 1968 and 1978, when songs sung by him were adjusted 6th best in the Binaca geetmala finals of those years. The songs being-"Honthon pe aisi baat" (Jewel Thief) and "Dil dhoondgta hai phir wahi" (Mausam), both regarded as landmark songs in Bollywood movies.

Yesudas- Yesudas, another playback singing great from South, had just 4 songs in Binaca geetmala finals, which seems a bit surprising. Quite a few of his popular songs from Rajshri production movies failed to make it to Binaca geetmala finals. 8th positions in Binaca geetmala finals of 1978 and 1979 was the best that he achieved. "Mohabbat bade kaam ki cheez hai"(Trishul) and "Madhuban khushboo deta hai" (Saajan bin Suhaagan) were the two songs, respectively.

Amitabh Bachchan- Amitabh Bachchan is a surprise entry who sang as many songs as some specialist singers, and even more than some regular singers in Binaca geetmala finals. And in fact, he did better than them in the Binaca geetmala rankings too. All his four songs finished very high in the finals. In 1979, his singing debut gave him 5th position for "Mere Pass aao" (Mr Natwarlal). His song "Mere angne me( Laawaris ) topped in 1981, whereas another song " Chal mere bhai" (Naseeb) sung with Rafi was 3rd. "Jahan char yaar mil jaaye", a 1984 song from Sharaabi,( where it was basically Kishore Kumar singing and Amitabh uttering a few words), finished second in the 1984 Binaca geetmala final.

Nazia Hassan- Nazia Hassan had created quite a bit of sensation for fans( as well as consternation for many in the industry), finally ended with a whimper, finishing with just four songs in Binaca geetmala finals. Her debut in "aap jaisa koi" (Qurbani) fetched her 4th position in 1980 final and that was her best performance. She too was affected badly by the failure of Kumar Gaurav as a hero.

S Janaki- S Janaki, a singing great from South had just 4 songs in Binaca geetmala finals in 1980s. 5th position in 1986 for "Sun Rubiya tumse pyar" (Mard) was her best performance in Binaca geetmala finals.

Kavita Krishnamurthy- She made her debut in 1980s towards the fag end of Binaca geetmala and she sang 4 songs that figured in Binaca geetmala finals.Her debut year saw her achieving her best ranking, when her song "tumse milkar na jaane kyun" from "Pyar jhukta nahin" earned her second position in Binaca geetmala final of 1985.

Singers with three songs in Binaca geetmala finals

Subir Sen- Subir Sen, a highly regarded singer during 1950s-60s, managed just three appearances in Binaca geetmala finals. His best performance was fifth position in 1961 Binaca geetmala final where he sang "Dil mera ek aas ka panchi" from "aas ka panchi". Another of his song, "main rangeela pyar ka raahi" from "Chhoti Behan" was 8th in 1959 final.

Mehmood- Mehmood is a surprise entry in the 3 song group of singers. Unlike the other specialist singer mentioned above, Mahmood would just utter a few words or so in the midst of the song. But that was enough for an actor to get the credit for "singing" that song. One such song, "Saj rahi gali meri maan" (Kunwaara baap 1975) earned Mehmood fourth position in Binaca geetmala final of 1975. Of course, most of singing in this song was done by Rafi. "Mehbooba mehbooba, banale mujhe dulha" (Saadhu aur Shaitan) was 25th in 1969, whereas "Muthukodi kawadi hada" (Do phool) was 15th in 1973 Binaca final.

Alisha Chinai- Riding the crest of Bappi Lahiri led Disco wave, Alisha Chinai managed three songs in Binaca geetmala finals. Her first song "Tarzan, my Tarzan" from the movie "Tarzan" took 3rd position in Binaca geetmala 1986 final. One more song "Jeelele jeelele" from Tarzan was in 11th position that year. Her third and last appearance was in 1987, for a song called "zooby zooby zooby" from a movie called "Dance Dance".Did I tell you that Bappi Da was the music director for all these songs ?

Singers with two songs in Binaca geetmala finals

Suraiyya- A Rajesh Khanna/ Amitabh Bachchan kind of celebrity in her heydays, Suraiyya was a singer cum actress, and her best days were before the advent of Binaca geetmala. Two of her songs figured in the inaugural Binaca geetmala countdown show year viz 1954 finals at 5th and 15th positions. These were her only appearances in Binaca geetmala finals. "Rahi matwaale tu ched ek baar (Waaris) at fifth position and "Saare mehfil jo jala parwaana" (Shama parwana) at 15th position were these two songs.

Shamshad Begum- She has sung a large number of popular songs, especially under O P Nayyar's baton, so it comes as a great surprise to note that her songs appeared in Binaca geetmala finals only twice. Her first appearance was at 6th position in Binaca geetmala in that blockbuster song- "leke pahla pahla pyaar, bhar ke aankhon me khumaar" from CID in Binaca geetmala final of 1956. Her second and last appearance was 13 years later in 1969, under the same music director in the song "Kajra mohabbatwala" (Kismat ) in 13th position. It is obvious that such a measly tally of two songs in Binaca geetmala does no justice to her singing prowess.

Mubarak Begum- Another unfulfilled talent that was starved of opportunities, she sang just two songs in Binaca geetmala finals in 1960s. "Mujko apne gale lagaa lo " from "Hamrahi" earned her 7th position in Binaca geetmala final of 1963."Kabhi tanhayion me yoon", a superb song from "hamari yaad aayegi" was 20th in 1961 Binaca geetmala final.

Kamal Barot- Kamal Barot, who sang in a unique husky voice had two Binaca geetmala finals appearances to her credit."Dadi Amma dadi amma maan jaao" (Gharana) at 26th position in Binaca geetmala final of 1961 was her first appearnce. She made her second and final appearance in 1962 at 6th position in the blockbuster "Parasmani" song- "hansta hua noorani chehra". It was the first movie of Laxmikant Pyarelal as independent music directors and this song launched Laxmikant Pyarelal as music directors of note.

Sharda- I am not complaining if only two of her songs made it to Binaca geetmala finals. Promoted by Shankar Jaikishan as an alternative to Lata, she was the worst possible choice that Shankar jaikishan could have made for such an onerous task.Her first appearnace was in 1967 and her second and final appearance in 1970 was in a popular song "wo pari kahan se laaoon, teri dulhan jise banaoon" from "Pehchaan", which finished as high as 4th in Binaca geetmala 1970 final countdown.

Dilip Kumar- The thespian, who uttered a few words in two songs, thus got credited with singing two songs. His debut as a "singer" was way back in 1957 in the song "lagi nahi choote Rama (Musafir) at 12th position. His second and last appearnce was three decades later in 1986. And surprise, surprise, this song finished second in Binaca geetmala 1986 final. The song was "Har karam apna karenge" (Karma)

Usha Mangeshkar- The younger sister of Lata and Asha, her singing prowess was on offer from 1950s itself, but there were hardly any takers. In her entire singing career extending as long as her two sisters, she just had two Binaca geetmala finals songs to her credit. Her Binaca geetmala debut in 1976 final in fact earned her a surprise 3rd position for the song "main to aarti utaroon re, santoshi mata ki" from the freak hit " Jai Santoshi Mata". Her second and final appearance was in 1980 at 15th position with the hummable song "Sultana, Sultana, mera naam hai Sultana" from "Tarana".

Jaspal Singh- Ravindra Jain, the music director of Rajshri productions movies gave chances to many newcomer singers in his movies. Jaspal Singh was the one who was introduced in "Geet gata Chal" and people thought that a new singer star was born. But unfortunately he failed to impress much in future. He ended up with just two Binaca geetmala finals songs from this movie.These songs took 4th and 8th position in Binaca geetmala final of 1976. 4th position song was the title song "geet gaata chal" and the other song was "Shyam teri bansi pukare Radha naam, Log kare Meera ko yoon hi badnaam".

Hemlata- Hemlata was used as the standard female voice by Ravindra Jain in Rajshri Production movies, and it really comes as a great surprise that only two songs sung by her have appeared in Binaca geetmala finals. Unlike Jaspal Singh, she sang all the female lead songs in all Rajshri movies in 1970s, and those songs were popular too. Her first appearance was in 1978, when she took the top spot for the song "Ankhiyon ke jharokhon se" from the movie of the same name. Despite singing many superb songs, her next and final appearnce in Binaca geetmala finals was only in 1981 and it was at 23rd position. It was a superb song "Tu is tarah se meri zindagi mein shaamil hai" (aap to aise na the)

Alka Yagnik- Alka Yagnik, now a leading female playback singer would not complain much if she appeared only twice in Binaca geetmala finals, since she made her debut in 1980s when Lata and Asha still had a stranglehold on female playback singing. Her debut song in 1981, saw her claiming the top position ( like Hemlata in 1978) for the song "mere angne me " from "Laawaaris". Her second and final Binaca geetmala final appearance was in 1986 at 8th position for a song that went "peena harram hai" from "Chameli ki shadi"

Anupama Deshpande- She also managed two songs in Binaca geetmala finals. First appearance was "Sohni Chenab de kinaare" (Sohni Mahiwaal) in Binaca geetmala final at 27th position. Her last appearance was in 1987 for "O yaara tu pyaar se hai" from Kaash at 10th position.

Sadhana Sargam- She made her two appearances in Binaca geetmala in the 1987 finals at 9th and 16th positions for two songs of the movie "Khudgarz".

Bappi Lahiri-Bappi Lahiri tended to sing in his movies too, a habit he had copied from his idol R D Burman. But unlike Pancham who sang sporadically, Bappi Lahiri insisted on being the voice of Mithun da.But ironically, the two songs sung by him that appeared in Binaca geetmala finals were sung for other actors. His first apperance as a singer in Binaca geetmala final was a surprisingly hummable song "Yaar bina chain kahan re" from "Saahab", which was 21st in 1985. He also sang "Jeele Jeele" in Tarzan and this song was 11th in 1986 final.

Singers with only one song in Binaca geetmala finals

Pradeep- Known for writing motivational songs that roused the nation, he could also sing some great songs which would invariably become cult songs. His lone Binaca geetmala appearance was in the final of 1955 where he sung one such cult song " Dekh tere sansaar ki haalat kya ho gayi Bhagwaan, kitna badal gaya insaan" for the movie Nastik. This song was in the 6th position in that Binaca geetmala final.

V Shantaram- He too was known more for making great movies that were ahead of their times than singing, but he sang one song in his own movie "Do Aankhe barah haath". The song is very well known- "Ai maalik Tere bande hum" which was 20th in the Binaca geetmala final of 1958.

Ameer Khan- The classical singer appeared once in Binaca geetmala final in a well known song in 1961. This song, which occupied 14th position in the final was "Madhuban mein radhika naache re" from "Kohinoor".

Minoo Purushottam- She sang "Huzure aala jo ho izaazat" under the baton of O P Nayyar. This song from "Ye Raat phir na aayegi" was 5th in Binaca geetmala final of 1966.

Saira Banu- She was one of the many actresses who would utter a few words in the song andwouldthus be credited with singing a song. Her song "aaj ki raat ye kaisi raat" ( Aman) was 12 th in 1967 final. Of course, the fact that Rafi was her co singer certainly helped.

Pankaj- There was a cheapstakes song at 27th position in Binaca geetmala 1970 final sung by Dharmendra and Rajindernath on screen. The song went "Munne ki amma ye to bata tere munne ke abba ka naame kya hai". The song was sung by Kishore Kumar ( for Dharmendra) and Pankaj ( for Rajindernath).

Pratibha- Child singer who sang "hai na bolo bolo" in 1971 for Andaaz ended up with only this solitary song, unlike her fellow child singer Sushma Shreshtha, who was a bit more successful. This song was in 8th position in Binaca geetmala and it continues to be a well loved song among kids and their parents.

Vani Jayram- Though she was quite a prolific singer in the south, her forays into Bollywood movie singing and Binaca geetmala was limited to just a solitary, but memorable song "Bole re Papihara"(Guddi) which was 21st in Binaca geetmala final of 1972.

Rekha- Another actress who would utter a line and got credited with singing a song. Her contribution in this song was uttering "maine aisa to nahin kaha tha", and this song rose to 5th position in Binaca geetmala final of 1974. Of course, the credit for such a popularity should rightfully go to Kishore Kumar the singer, Rajinder Krishan the lyricist and Kalyanji Anandji the music director. If Ekta Kapoor ( not yet born then) would name her serials with "K", the moviemaker of this movie would name his movies with three Ks. And this was the first movie in which he successfully tried that. This movie was called "Kahani Kismat Ki".

Hema Malini- This song was played just minutes before the earlier song in Binaca getmala final of 1974, one rung lower at 6th position. Male ( and main) singer was once again Kishore Kumar who sung with Gusto "Peene waalon ko peene ka bahana chahiye" in "Haath ki Safai". Hema would say " Main Chandramukhi nahin Paaro hoon" to which Kishore Kumar would say " par main bada dukhi hoon". A great fun song, really.

Jaani Babu Quawwal- Sang just one song, and the song topped the chart in Binaca geetmala final of 1975. It went " Mahngaayi maar gayi" from Roti Kapda aur makaan.

Narendra Chanchal- The quawwal in the above song was accompanied by the Bhajan Singer called Narendra Chanchal too.And Narendra Chanchal, like Jaani Babu would never appear in Binaca geetmala again.

Aziz Naazaan- Another quawwal, he not only sang,but also composed the music for this song from Five rifles, and the song was very popular indeed.In fact, the lyricist called Nazaan Sholapuri could well be the same person too, who knows ? This song, an anthem from drunks went "Jhoom barabar jhoom Sharaabi" and the bewdas of the nation made it number 9 song of Binaca geetmala final of 1975. Like the quawwal and bhajan Singer mentioned above, this was the only time this particular quawwal would have his moment under the Binaca geetmala sun ( or should it be moon ?).

Aarti Mukherji- she made her debut in "Geet gata chal" alongwith Jaspal Singh and the 8th position song "Shyam teri bansi pukare Radha naam" of Binaca geetmala 1976 final remains her sole appearance in Binaca finals.

Runa Laila- The singer from Bangladesh charmed all, including Lata Mangeshkar, till Lata came to know how much the producers were paying her vis a vis her own singing fee. She was not amused. And as happened, if Lata was not amused, that was the end for the career of that singer. Runa Laila's sole appearance in Binaca geetmala final was this lovely song "Do deewane shahar mein" from Gharonda which was 6th in 1978 Binaca geetmala finals.

Master Ravi- Not just grown up actors, even a child artist can become a singer in Bollywood by just uttering a few words. Master Ravi speaks "Off Oh, Aage bhi to bolo" and "phir kya hua" and the song finishes 5th in Binaca geetmala 1979. Of course, it was Amitabh Bachchan, also debuting as a singer, who was mainly responsible for the popularity of this song which has become an all time favourite among kids and grown ups alike.

Kanchan- "Laila main Laila" from Qurbani, which was 6th in 1980, was the sole appearance for Kanchan in Binaca geetmala finals.

Sulakshana Pandit- Sulakshana Pandit, daughter of music director Chitragupta was an actress cum singer and she sang some nice numbers. Too bad her singing and acting career was shortlived. Her sole appearance in Binaca geetmala finals was in 1978 in the 21st positioned song "Somwaar ko hum mile" from "Apnaapan".

Ghulam Ali- The Pakistani ghazal maestro's wonderful "Chupke chupke raat din" was included in the movie "Nikaah" without his permission. I guess Ghulam Ali did not mind because that was the first time many Indians heard about him and his fanbase in India suddenly grew manifold. This song was 30th in Binaca geetmala final of 1983.

Vijay Benedict- Another beneficiary of Disco craze, he sang the title song of Disco dancer, "I am a disco dancer" and this song was 8th in 1983.

Anwar- "Sohni meri Sohni Sohni" (Sohni Mahiwaal) was 19th in 1984 final and this was Anwar's only appearance in Binaca geetmala.

Parvati Khan- Another beneficiary of Bappi da's disco songs. Parvati Khan too appeared in "Disco dancer" singing "Jimmy Jimmy aaja aaja" and this song was 20th in 1983 Binaca geetmala finals. Too bad no one sang "Parvati Parvati aaja aaja" and this song proved to be her swansong as well.

Rajeshwari- Daughter of Pyarelal, she made quite an impression in the song "He Raju, haan Daddy" from "Ek hi bhool" and this song was 7th in 1982 Binaca geetmala final.

Zoheb- " Ek do kehne bhi do" from "Star" starring Kumar Gaurav, which was 21st in Binaca geetmala 1982, was Zoheb Hassan's sole appearance in Binaca geetmala. The star of Kumar Gaurav sank, and the singing careers of many wanna be disco singers sank with him too. This included Zoheb and his sister Nazia Hassan.

Manmohan Singh- "Jeene de ye duniya chahe maar daale", a song from Laava (1985), which was 7th in Binaca geetmala 1985 was the only time the namesake of Indian PM was ever heard in a Binaca geetmala final.

Pankaj Udhas-He sang the emotionally moving song "Chithhi aayi hai" in "Naam". This song appeared in 1986 final ( in 15th position) and it took the top position in 1987 final.

Major singers in Binaca geetmala finals

2008-07-29T08:37:00.015+05:30

I have discussed music directors in Binaca geetmala finals and then I discussed lyricists in Binaca geetmala finals. To complete the discussion, Now I present the analysis of various singers who have figured in Binaca geetmala finals. As in case of Music directors and Lyricists, I have considered the period when Binaca geetmala was a one hour countdown programme on Radio Ceylon, viz the period from 1954 to 1987.

Just as my analysis on music directors and lyricists gave some surprising and some not so surprising facts, this analysis of singers in Binaca geetmala also reveals some interesting facts.

I was under the preconceived notion that the number of singers should be much less as compared to the number of music directors or lyricists whose songs appeared in Binaca geetmala finals.But I discovered that there have been as many as 71 singers who have appeared in Binaca geetmala finals.

In contrast, there were only 48 music directors and 48 lyricists appearing in Binaca geetmala finals during the same period. As a result of this unexpectedly big list of singers, my task of discussing them has taken me much longer than I earlier expected. But the effort has been worth it, and I hope it will throw some much needed light on this subject. Considering the sheer number of singers, I will discuss them in two parts. "Major singers" will be covered first. "Minor singers" viz those with less than 10 songs in Binaca geetmala finals will appear in the next part.

Major Singers ( those who sang 10 or more songs in Binaca geetmala finals)

Lata Mangeshkar- A whopping 322 songs sung by her have figured in Binaca geetmala finals. She appeared in all finals right from 1954. Her most prolific year was 1973 in which an incredible 20 songs sung by Lata appeared in the Binaca geetmala final countdown. Songs sung by her topped the annual countdown list of Binaca geetmaala in as many as 17 finals. The years when Lata songs were adjusted the most popular being- 1954,1957,1960,1962,1963,1965,1967,1968,1969,1970,1976,1977,1980,1982,1983,1985 and 1986.

Md Rafi- Rafi songs appeared in Binaca geetmala right from 1954.He sang 220 songs in Binaca geetmala finals. He suffered a setback for a few years in the 1970s as a result of Kishore Kumar hurricane, but he looked set for regaining much of his lost ground when he died in 1980. During his heydays in 1950s and 1960s, he was untouchable. His most prolific year was 1964 when as many as 19 songs in the Binaca geetmala finals were sung by Rafi. Rafi's songs topped the binaca geetmala finals lists as many as 8 times, viz in 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966 and 1980.

Kishore Kumar- Despite his great talent, Kishore Kumar's career as a playback singer was going no where till 1968. In the first 14 years of Binaca geetmala, Kishore Kumar had just 26 Binaca geetmala finals songs to his credit. But his playback singing career skyrocketed from the next year onward. So much so that Kishore Kumar's dominance in Binaca geetmala finals in 1970s appears almost surreal. He had as many as 23 songs in the Binaca geetmala final of 1972, 20 in 1971 and 19 in 1973. Such consistent dominance over three straight years in Binaca geetmala was quite unprecedented. Songs sung by Kishore Kumar topped the annual lists of Binaca geetmala in 1959, 1971, 1974, 1979, 1982 and 1983. He ended up with 217 of his songs appearing in Binaca geetmala finals.

Asha Bhosle- Despite her talent and her association, first with O P Nayyar and then with R D Burman, she had less than half the number of songs in Binaca geetmala finals compared to her elder sister. Still, 144 is a very respectable number considering that the next most successful female singer in Binaca geetmala finals only managed 11 songs. Her most prolific year was 1984 whe she had as many as 16 songs in that year's final list. Songs sung by her topped the Binaca geetmala annual lists in 1959,1971,1972 and 1979.

Mukesh- Mukesh, who only sang around 700 songs in his career had 59 of his songs appearing in Binaca geetmala finals. 1960 and 1961 were the two most fruitful years for him when 8 songs sung by him made it to the final list in each of these two years. Mukesh, despite so few songs in Binaca geetmala finals managed to hit the jackpot as many as five times. Songs sung by him topped the Binaca geetmala finals in 1955, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1976.

Mahendra Kapoor- Mahendra Kapoor, who mostly sang for music director Ravi and for movies under B R Chopra banner, had 24 of his songs appearing in Binaca geetmala finals, beginning from 1960 onwards. His most prolific Binaca geetmala final was 1970 when as many as 4 of his songs appeared in the final. His best result was in 1983 when a song sung by him finished second in Binaca geetmala final.

Shabbir Kumar- Shabbir Kumar, one of the Rafi clones proved quite succeesful in 1980s. 20 of his songs appeared in Binaca geetmala finals. His most prolific year was 1985 when 8 of his songs appeared in the Binaca geetmala finals.His best finish was the second position in that final.

Manna Dey- Manna Dey, who was badly typecast as a classical singer, got to sing very few songs which were not very popular with the masses because of their classical base. Only 15 songs sungs by Manna Dey appeared in the Binaca geetmala finals. 1973 was the best finish for him when the song "Yari hai imaan mera"sung by him ( for who else but the character artist Pran) turned out to be the number one song of the year.

Geeta Dutt- At 11 songs, she is the third most successful female playback singer in Binaca geetmala. This shows the stranglehold of Lata Mangeshkar on the female playback singer scenarion in Bollywood. Of course, Geeta Dutt's career went into a tailspin because of her personal problems too. But as long as her career was on track, she was an influential singer. She may have sung just 11 songs in Binaca geetmala finals, but she tasted the podium finish too. Her song "Ae dil hai mushkil jeena yahan" from CID was number one in the 1956 Binaca geetmala final.

Md Aziz- Another Rafi clone from 1980s, Md Aziz sang 11 songs towards the fag end of Binaca geetmala. As many as 9 songs sung by him appeared in the Binac ageetmala final of 1987. one of his songs-"har karam apna karenge" (Karma) was ranked number 2 in the binaca geetmala final of 1986.

Hemant Kumar- Hemant Kumar was a successful music director as well as a singer who sang for other music directors too. He sang only 10 songs in Binaca geetmala finals, but he tasted the ultimate success as a singer when a song sung by him, "Hai apna dil hai aawara, na jaane kispe aayega" (Solva saal) finished number 1 in Binaca geetmala final of 1958.

Suresh Wadkar- He made his Binaca debut in 1979 and his 10 Binaca geetmala finals songs include fifth place finishes in 1979 and 1982 in the finals. The songs were "Jeejaji jeejaji, honewale jeejaji"( saajan Bina Suhagan) and "Main hoon prem rogi" (Prem Rog) respectively.

"Minor" singers, viz those who sang less than 10 songs in binaca geetmala finals constitute majority of Binaca geetmala singers. There are as many as 41 of them. I will discuss them next.

Horizontally mobile

2008-07-26T21:53:00.011+05:30

I believe in progress, because it opens up new opportunities. Since I am a supporter of progress and opportunities, I suppose that makes me progressive and opportunist. I wonder why some people take exception to being described as opportunists, when there are people who feel no stigma on being called "backward" and in fact they agitate for inclusion among the ranks of "backwards".

Similarly, a therapist should not mind being called therapist. Problem arises when it becomes "the rapist" due to a typo. But then that is an occupational hazard for a profession where you designate yourself in this way. A librarian too runs the risk of being called a bookie instead of a book keeper. But I have no sympathy for librarians considering how I saw a librarian stocking books on radioactivity on the shelf marked "Radio and TV". I have not seen a bookshelf where books on sussex,middlesex and essex have been put on the shelf marked sexual literature, but it is always a possibility with such bookies, err librarians, don't you think ?

But I am digressing. Where was I ? Yes, I was on to progress and opportunities. And we have certainly seen lots of progress in the fields of telecommunication. The fact that every Tom, Dick and Hari can now afford a mobile phone is nothing short of miraculous. It was just one generation ago that we needed to have a long waiting list if we wanted to have a landline connection. Of course, the technology for mobile phone itself was non existent.

I recall what happened when the mobile phones first arrived in India. It was too expensive, where you had to pay through your nose not only to make a call, but also to receive a call. And what did the people talk? The caller only talked about the fact that he had a mobile phone, and how nice it was to have a mobile phone costing a fortune, and about the pros ( no cons) of having a mobile phone. All this conversation was in a loud enough voice to ensure that everyone knew you had a mobile phone, and felt suitably jealous of you, and yet admired you too, for your prized possession. Some people carried pagers, and many people who did not know the difference between the two, actually thought pagers and mobile phones to be the same.

Mobile phones, which were the size of a brick when they first came up ( and laptop computers were the size of VIP suitcase) soon became smaller and in fact mobile phone ads would advertise this fact as a feature. There was one ad some ten years ago in which a lady ( Kavita Kapoor) is talking sweet nothings and the bearer thinks she is addressing him. When he approches her, he is mortified to see that she gives an order for some refreshments("one black coffee, please"), and her sweet nothings were being talked into a mobile phone that was too small to be visible outside her palm.

I recall the days before mobile phones when I was undergoing training. As a trainee you are obviously supposed to have a diary/ notebook where you would note down whatever you learnt, and then produce this diary as a proof to show what you learnt. Now everyone had notebooks of the size of a tile ( 5" X 7" or so with 250 pages). I had a notebook/ diary which was 2" x 1" with 100 pages, neatly leatherbound. One of the fellow trainee became so impressed with my notebook that he suggested me how to present the notebook for inspection. Keep the diary in the right palm, and shake the hand of the person saying- "Good morning Sir, I am Atul", and then rotate the wrist clockwise 90 degrees, open the palm to reveal the notebook and say "And here is my notebook,Sir".

In fact, that is how secrets were exchanged by spies in old movies. In James Bond movies,secret microfilm would be transferred by the lady spy through her mouth to James Bond's mouth while ostensively kissing him. One can try the idea of exchanging 2" X 1 " diary containing the names of villain's contacts ( like it was in Don) through a handshake even in Bollywood movies. Of course, do not forget to credit me for this idea.

In earlier days of mobile, mobile phones were unaffordable for common people, so only people with deep pockets owned them. Now that even those with holes in their pockets have mobile phones, we have seen the tendency to save even the last paisa. People would give you a missed call and expect that you would ring them back. It is all right if you know the person, but what about strangers giving you a missed call and expecting you to call them back ? What about wrong calls ? They were there on landlines too, but there at least you have no caller ID in most phones, but on mobile phone you can very well see what number you are dialling and what number you are receiving.

On mobile phone I would receive wrong numbers. As I attend the phone, the person would ask- "Kaun (who)?." Well, it is I who should ask this question. The person calling me should know whom he/she is calling. Ringing without checking the number and then checking from me who is it at that number reeks of poor etiquette.

And then there was this wrong number that I was receiving for a long time. But the caller wanted to save call charges too, so she would not allow me to reply and ensured that the phone stopped ringing by the time I reached it. If you are that desperate to talk to me, then atleast make sure that you are not stingy about paying for one call. Fed up, finally I rang back, and what do I hear- "Kaun (who)". What should I have said-"Silly woman, you are repeatedly giving me missed calls, and you are not aware whom you are calling?". Of course, I do not talk like that to anyone. I just told her curtly to check the number she was dialling.

People have time for idle chitchat on phone, but on the other end of the spectrum, there are those cases, when you want to make urgent calls, but the person refuses to receive the call. It is strange that people will not attend calls on official hours, and during unofficial hours, they will tell you- "but now the office is closed. You should have phoned me during working hours.". Technology may have changed and advanced, but the tendency to pass the buck and shirk work remains intact.

You find that people do not attend your calls? I have an idea. Phone them when they are driving a two wheeler or a four wheeler. People who have no time to talk on mobile while in office would readily take out their mobiles and talk while driving. Four wheeler driver will have his mobile in left hand and steering wheel on right hand. And he would not stop by the side. He would continue to drive and talk. And two wheeler guy will contort his head and shoulder in a weird position, with the mobile precariously nestled between the two, the eyes pointing dreamily towards the heaven, and he will have no clue where he is going on his two wheeler. The worst part is, these people are not even aware how unsafe this is. These people do not know/ follow basic driving rules, and the fact that talking on mobile makes a driver more at risk than a drunk driver is not even known to these people. And if there has been any effort to educate them on traffic rules, chances are that the educators themselves are not very well educated in these matters.

There is this saying that a fool and his money are soon parted.Most people would seriously mind being called a fool, but it is an old saying that continues to be proved right. And interestingly enough, the ways to fool people have become more and more sophisticated. It will take many many lengthy posts to explain how people are taken for a ride ( euphemism for being fooled) in day to day life. Here, let me confine myself just to mobile.

Calling on the mobile is the basic use of this device, and you can also use it as a phone book. But there are so many features on a mobile phone. There are so many features in a computer as well, but no one is after you to use all these features. But when it comes to mobile phones, people like service poviders, TV channels, banks, insureres etc want you to make use of all the features that your mobile phone may have. You are repeatedly asked to download the latest ring tones. TV channels with their competitions encourage you to vote for your favourite participants as many times as you want.Even I keep myself updated with cricket scores by SMS.Mind you, all these sevices cost money to you- something like Rs 5 to Rs 8 per SMS or so.These small looking expenses mount up. One individual may not think much of his three figures bills, but there are millions like him/her doing the same, and that results in 9 figures (100s of croresof rupees) revenue for the mobile companies.If anyone does these maths, the mobile service providers have reasons to laugh louder on their way to the bank, all that by taking you for a ride, which you may not have intended to take in the first place.

Making you buy things which you do not need is a standard practice used by salesmen and mobile service providers are no different. The fact that people lose their ability to think independently, thanks to their repeated exposure to TV contributes in a big way. Radio was different, there you had to make some effort to follow the broadcast that exercised your mind. On TV, you do not even have to do so, and the TV channels find millions of sitting ducks, all vulnerable to any kind of addiction that these channels may serve up- cartoons, cricket, soap opera. If you do not realise them as addictions, then chances are, you are addicted. Personally, I admit that I was addicted to cricket, but seeing how BCCI was taking the Indian public for a ride, I am trying to get myself deaddicted from cricket.

I loved finding about all the features of computers and even tweaking any software and hardware features of my computers.But even I cannot keep myself abreast of the advances being made in mobile technology. And honestly, I do not feel that I need to use all these features. For instance, why do I need to use a mobile like a camera, like a radio, or like a MP3 player,to play games, or to watch movies. Using a mobile to listen to music is a waste of your battery power, if you are on a journey and you do not have charging facility.Why not use a dedicated MP3 player instead ? And why watch movies on a puny 2" x 2" screen ? Have a dedicated equipment custom built for that purpose, if you must watch movies or must play games.

Of course, these are my views and my rants. I do not expect others to do and think like me. After all, the mobile companies,TV channels,BCCI, private banks etc need to make profits, don't they ?

Akashwani news and Indian satellites

2008-07-23T20:34:00.014+05:30

On a fine day in 1975, we were informed with big fanfare on Akashwani that India had become only the 5th or 6th nation to have its artificial satellite. This satellite, launched from Soviet Union, was called Aryabhatta. It was a big news, and Indians rejoiced just as much as they had done the last year.

These two news items ( 1974 Pokharan and this 1975 Aryabhatta satellite) meant that I, who was interesting in Bollywood music and sports, became interested in Indian achievement in various fields in general and in scientific achievements in particular.

In 1979, India had another satellite called Bhaskara launched from Soviet Union.

Same year, Indians grew more ambitious and decided to launch satellites from home in what was called SLV (satellite launch vehicle), but the first such attempt of SLV launching a satellite called Rohini failed. Later in 1980,SLV successfully launched another satellite called Rohini-I and Akashwani again informed us something like India becoming only the fifth or so country in the world to have this capability. And I was suitably proud of this achievement. then an experiment communication satellite called APPLE was successfully launched in 1981( which led to spoof in humour magazine "Madhu Muskaan" showing Popat- Chaupat, the main cartoon characters of the magazine going to space in BANANA satellite). It was launched from Kourou, French Guyana on Ariane rocket.In the same year, Bhaskar-II was launched successfully.

In each case, the Akashwani news would cover the launch of the satellite, then the hourly health of the satellite for a few days- now the satellite has been launched, now the satellite has established contact with the master control facility as Hassan, now the satellite has been put into an intermediate orbit etc. In the coming days, the satellite would be gradually brought up to its final orbit and interested audience like me would await the outcome with bated breath.

The purpose for the satellites was also mentioned in detail in news bulletins, as was the expected duration for which it was supposed to stay in space. In fact, how much fuel it contained and its booster motors were also discussed in the news items. As it was, the satellites were supposed to usher in the dawn of a new era in telecommunications in India.

satellites had begun to be used for telecommunications in those days. Countries like USA, Soviet Union and European Union were the pioneers in the field. Other countries would lease transponders on their satellites or get their own satellites launched from their launching facilities.

India had leased some transponders on INTELSAT satellite, a satellite owned by US, and India got these on lease so that they could telecast educational programmes for their rural folks. And that was used by Indian TV Doordarshan to telecast its programmes to some selected parts of India- and in true Govt of India fashion, the programmes were dull and boring.

India decided that they needed to have their own telecommunication satellites.
And the first telecommunication satellite in this connection was called INSAT-1A. (Brief for India satellite-1A, 1A showing that it was the first satellite in the series of satellites planned, subsequent satellites were to be called INSAT-1B, INSAT-1C etc).This was to be launched by NASA at Cape Canvarel aboard Delta rocket in 1982.

Everyone, at least people like me,eagerly looked forward to the launch of INSAT-1A, which was supposed to serve Indian telecommunication needs for 5 years, and would herald telecommunication facilities that were stuff of science fiction for Indians. We were informed that the Indians would be able to watch TV all over the country, like they were able to listen to All India radio. Even the radio coverage was likely to improve. Moreover, telephone facilities were supposed to become much better than even before.

The launch was successful, and how the satellite had established contact with the master control facility as Hassan etc were given good coverage by Akashwani.Then the process of manoevering it to its final orbit via intermediate orbits began.But the enthusiasm soon gave way to despair and later it was informed that the satellite had used up too much energy in the process of reaching its geostationary orbit. It lasted only three months against a projected life of five years. I was very disappointed.

Next satellite in the series INSAT-1B was launched from Cape Canavaral and this time it was launched in 1983 by a space shuttle Challenger. It was successfully and it ushered in the promised telecommunication revolution in India.

If we recall, the era of TV and improved telecom facilities began thereafter.

Next satellite was INSAT-1C launched from Kourou aboard Ariane in 1988 to replace INSAT-1B which was completing its life soon. But this launch, though described as a success initially, soon ran into trouble. The satellite failed to operate to its full capacity as one of its solar panel failed to open ( if I recall correctly). After struggling for about one year, this satellite finally was abandoned as failed. Indian agencies, which had pinned their hopes on this satellite had to hire facilities on foreign satellites as a temporary measure, hoping that the next launch would be successful.

Next satelite, INSAT-ID ( last in the INSAT I series), launched from Cape Canavaral aboard Delta rocket was successful. It was the first time that an Indian satellite aboard a rocket was successfully launched. Also, quite coincidentally, the two successful Indian satellites were both launched by NASA,USA. This communication satellite finally took into to the new era of telecommunication age, from which India has not looked back since.

After that, so many INSAT series satellites have been launched, and majority of them ( 12 out of 14) have been successful. I have lost track of these launches and these satellites. Their successful launch has become a non event, no one even thinks about them any longer. In fact, the last such satellite, INSAT-4CR was launched from Shri Harikota, India itself aboard GSLV, and it was successful.(Their earlier launch, that of INSAT-4C, was a failure). These days it does not attract much attention. Even I, who was so clued in on such news during my younger days, did not pay too much attention to this event, when it took place on september 2007.I was more busy thinking about Indian cricket team's chances in the inaugural Twenty20 world cup.

The fact that Indian PSLV launchers had been launching smaller satellites for many countries such as Italy,Israel, Indonesia, Argentina,Canada etc has failed to make news. In January 2008,PSLV launched 4 satellites simultaneously. Later PSLV launch in April 2008 saw as many as 10 satellites launched simultaneously ( 8 of them for foreign countries), and no one even took notice. The world record is 13 satellites in one launch by Russia the same year, but theRussian satellites only weighed 295 kg in all, against total weight of over 1000 Kg aboard PSLV).

One has to admit that the Indian satellite efforts had come a long way from those days in 1970s and 1980s if such news items no longer get any coverage in the Indian media.

Akashwani news in early 1970s

2008-07-23T20:22:00.009+05:30

I have mentioned that Bollywood music and sports were the main items of interest for me on radio broadcasts. Then there were news. Not all news interested me. I was interested in sports news on the regular news bulletin. In a regular news bulletin in Akashwani lasting 10 or 15 minutes, we first had the headlines, followed by the news in detail. In the end, the headlines were repeated again.

I especially looked forward to the sports news, which came towards the end of the bulletin and received step motherly treatment. Sports news were not regarded as important enough to merit a mention in the headlines. In some rare cases, sports news actually made the headline, and then I would eagerly look forward to the details of the news, only to find that the same one line that was read in the headlines, were read again, and that was all. To add insult to injury, the same one line would again be read out towards the end of the bulletin when the announcer read the headlines again. So in effect one single line was repeated thrice in a news item, and that was supposed to take care of sports news in a normal Akashwani news bulletin.

In case India managed to win a test match, or won a hockey tournament, the regular bulletin, though, would mention this news as the first headline. This was the only time when one could hope to hear more than one line of sports news in the regular news bulletin. The players responsible in the win were given some coverage.Rest on the coverage on this win included the congratulatory messages to the team from dignitories like the President of India,Prime Minister of India, Sports Minister, Speaker of Lok sabha, Chairman of rajya sabha,etc, etc.

The origin of most news was Delhi, and the originator of most news was the Government of India. Every news bulletin typicaly began with what the Prime Minister said or did, followed by what other ministers said or did. One minute or two was also devoted to what the Chief Ministers of congress ruled states said or did, when they came to New Delhi to meet the high command. With this kind of news, which conveyed the impression of Delhi and Bharat sarkar being an all powerful entity, people were in awe of Bharat sarkar. and often, Chief ministers of states would be dismissed on a whim, or president's rule would be imposed in some states, and it hardly made much news,unlike what we see today even for much trivial matters.

As a kid, I thought that the Government of India must be a very impressive behemoth, and its officials must surely have more than two limbs,more than one head ( each head being equipped with horns),etc.

There were international news as well, in which the Indian prime minister was shown to be active as a major player- mainly as an active participant in NAM ( non Aligned Movement) and in the organisation of British Commonwealth. Some international news was also about the aid that India received from other foreign countries.

As individuals, taking loans and becoming a debtor was considered such a stigma for individuals, but the government of India taking loans from foreign countries was almost glorified, which I could never understand. Worse,India was not even sufficient in foodstuff till late 1970s, and India would import foodstuff from US, which would send wheat deemed unsuitable for US cattle, for Indians to eat. Hopefully, things began to look up on the food front. Akashwani and other government organisations, mainly DAVP and NFDC, started to inform the public through radio,print media and movies, respectivel, that India had become self sufficient in food stuff. It was one major news for the Indians to feel proud about.Also, I never heard a news item that mentioned India having repaid any of these loans fully.

Now with the benefit of hindsight, I really admire the guts of the then India PM, who could rub USA ( the mightiest nation in the world even then) the rough way and still get away with it.It was truly a case of super power vs super poor and the super poor nation, which could not even afford to grow enough food for its population and depended on foreign financial aid to survive, would often harangue some of its own aid donating countries on many international issues. It was true cartoon network stuff where Jerry the mouse would regularly thump Tom the cat and would still get away.

Whenever India managed to do something improbable, Akashwani would broadcast it in the news and would also mention that India had become only the nth country to do that.

In 1974, we were informed that India had exploded a "peaceful" nuclear bomb, and that India was only the fifth country in the world to do so. USA and other coutries protested a lot and imposed many sanctions, but that was like trying to disrobe a person who was already naked. It hardly made any difference to India or Indians.

One good thing that Akashwani did was to have a separate 5 minute Khel samachar in Hindi( 7 PM to 7:05 PM) and Sports news in English (8:00 PM to 8:05 PM). This was a great improvement on the earlier arrangement of repeating one line of sports news thrice in the regular news bulletin.

A few months later, Akashwani came up with another brainwave. They started a sanskrit news also. And cartoonists had a field day, showing old women devotedly sitting infront of the radio listening to Akashwani, regarding the news as voice from the Gods.Incidentally, that is how Gods from the sky used to address human beings in Indian mythology, in Sanskrit, and it was also called Akashwani.

I was not like the old Indian women of these cartoons, but I would do something similar while listening to Akashwani news in later years, that I am going to discuss next.

BBC World Service (English) in 1970s

2008-07-21T17:27:00.010+05:30

I have discussed a few radio stations, viz Akashwani (All India Radio),Vividh Bharati and Radio Ceylon (later Sri Lanka Broadcasting corporation) in detail. In fact, I have even discussed Jhumri Tilaiyya, the small town with a penchant for sending farmaishes (requests)to radio stations for playing Bollywood film songs.

But there were other popular radio stations too,that had their own loyal audience. One such radio station was BBC.

When a typical Indian radio listener of 1970s said BBC, he/ she did not necessarily mean the world service of BBC that was broadcast in English. Of course, I was a loyal listener of this English service too. But for many Indian listeners, BBC meant its programmes in languages such as Hindi and Urdu.

Let me first discuss the English language world service. I used to listen to it on shortwave 31meter band, and my favourite BBC programme was the sports round up, a 15 minutes programme that discussed sports news. I would wait for this programme at 6:15 PM in the evening IST as well as at 11:15 PM, even if the latter time was regarded as too late in those days.

Another programme was obviously the BBC TMS ( test match special) where running commentary of test matches ( called ball by ball coverage) was broadcast. In those days, when there was no TV in India, Indians of all generations, including my generation grew up following BBC TMS. Listening to the voices of great names like Jim Swanton and John Arlott was as pleasing to one's ears as was listening to Ameen Sayani presenting Binaca geetmala ( obviously on a diferent topic on a different radio in a different language). Both of these commentators retired from commentary in 1970s, and their retirements were big news. For instance, I recall that it was covered in sportsweek magazine ( India's only English language sports magazine).

In case it rained in cricket matches, All India Radio covering the match would start playing classical instrumental music.How I hoped that they would play instumentals of recent Bollywood hit songs instead, but then All India radio bigwigs were not known for catering to lower class tastes like mine. BBC on the other hand would not do anything likethat. They would continue to discuss cricket. It was just that instead of discussing the match on hand, they would switch into the nostalgia mode and would begin discussing cricket matches and cricketers from the past.Radio listeners like me, who were so starved of cricket information, would latch on to every single word lest we miss out on some valuable nuggets of wisdom.

Of course, BBC was renowned for its impartial news. Considering how the All India radio was used as a propaganda tool by the government of India, Indian listeners relied on BBC news to find out what was going on in their own country.

Most of the news of BBC were world news, and Indian news formed very small part of it, though there were some specific times when South Asian news would be presented. And that was an eagerly looked forward to programme for those who were interested in such news.

And I was there beside my radio when India toured England to play three test matches in 1974. The way the Indians ( who regarded themselves as a top cricket team, having won three test series in a row) were made to look foolish is now known to all cricket fans. In fact, it was during this season that I discovered BBC (English as well as its Hindi/Urdu services).

Next year, Indians were back in England, this time to play in the inaugural world cup. No one, including many players had much clue about these limited overs matches. India selectors picked Venkatraghawan as the captain of the team simply because he was exposed to this brand of cricket in England. In reality, he was not a regular in the limited over team of his county Derbyshire. So the India team was being captained by a player who was not good enough to find a place in the playing XI of an English county.

Others in the team were worse,which became obvious as the world cup began. And no one showed his ineptitude more dramatically than one Sunil Gavaskar, who crawled to his infamous 36 not out in an innings lating 60 overs. And all these news came to us via BBC coverage of the event.

Another sports coverage that I looked forward to was the Wimbledon. And I was glued to my radio during men's final of 1981 when John McEnroe managed to break Bjorn Borg's Wimbledon starnglehold after a hard fought 4 sets victory. A few years later, TV era dawned in India, and we had a single TV channel called Doordarshan. First Wimbledon that I saw on TV was in 1985 when Becker made history, by winning the men's Wimbledon title at 17. He in fact , was younger than the boy's champion, Leonardo Lavalle. And I also recall a unique record about Jimmy Connors, which no one else except me noticed. Connors lost in the semifinal ( i.e played 6 matches), and his six opponents were born in six different continents.

Next year, when Becker won again, this time beating Lendl in straight sets in the final, I followed it on TV in the common room of my hostel ( like the previous year), but I did one more resourceful thing this time. I borrowed the "two-in-one" (Radio cum tape recorder) of another person, put on one blank audio tape and switched it on to record the BBC commentary of the Wimbledon men's final. After watching the telecast, I came to my room, and found a very decent quality audio recording ready in the "two-in-one".

I did the same thing a few months later during the world cup football final of 1986. While I was watching the final on TV in the TV room, the BBC commentary of the most crucial moments of the match between Argentina and Germany, including the spree of goals in the last few minutes of the match were getting recorded in my room. The recording once again came out very well.

I would often play these two recordings in my room to relive those magic moments. One of my hostel mates spread the information that I religiously listened to these recordings two times a day every day. A good laugh it may have been for all, but he was not too far off the mark.

Of course BBC had many quality programmes up their sleeves apart from news and the seasonal sports coverage such as TMS specials and Wimbledon.Every programme had its own signature tune, and one could know by the tune which programme was being aired. I took these signature tunes for granted, before I listened to one special programme, where we were informed that BBC had their own inhouse section where these theme tunes were created.

BBC also had music programmes, but most of it went over my head. However hard I listened to it, I could not make much of it. Brought up on Bollywood music that I was, I tried to look for similarities between the two kinds of music, but I could find none, and as a result I could never become a fan of that kind of music.

In addition to BBC English service, they had services in other languages tailor made for many countries. For South Asia, for instance, they had programmes in Hindi, Urdu,Bangla,etc and they were very popular. I will discuss Hindi and Urdu service of BBC in my next article.

Lyricists in Binaca geetmala finals

2008-07-18T18:56:00.018+05:30

After discussing the performances of various Music directors in Binaca geetmala from 1954 to 1987, now it is time for me to see how the various lyricists have performed in Binaca geetmala finals for the same period.

The list provided below may throw up some surprises, and also some not so surprising facts.We all have some idea on who are the most prolific lyricists in Binaca geetmala finals, but we may be surprised to find that some very successful lyricists had only a few songs in Binaca geetmala finals.

Anand Bakshi ( 193 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Anand Bakshi who made it to Binaca geetmala finals for the first time in 1962 went on to become the most prolific lyricists of all time in the history of Binaca geetmala finals. His prolific output in Binaca geetmala finals is similar to that of Laxmikant Pyarelal among music directors. His songs were number 1 in the finals of 1967, 1970,1972, 1980,1984, 1986 and 1987.

Majrooh Sultanpuri( 102 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- The most prolific lyricist during the golden era of Bollywood music, Majrooh Sultanpuri continued to do well even after that golden era was over. His songs were Number 1 in Binaca geetmala finals of 1956, 1958, 1959, 1968 and 1982.

Hasrat Jaipuri( 74 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Much like Majrooh Sultanpuri, Hasrat Jaipuri too had a long career beginning in 1950s and extending well into the 1980s. His songs claimed the Number 1 position in Binaca geetmala finals of 1961, 1962, 1966, 1971 and 1985.

Indeevar (65 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Indeevar had a steady career and that reflects in the number of his songs that figured in Binaca geetmala finals. A song written by him was Number 1 in the finals of 1965.

Shailendra( 57 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Shailendra was the most influential lyricist of the Golden era, and he was at his peak when he died at a youngish age. But for his untimely death, he would have surely been more prolific in Binaca geetmala finals. Songs penned by him took Number 1 spot in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1955 and 1964.

Sahir Ludhianvi(42 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-Another stalwart of the golden era, he wrote songs that were Number 1 in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1954, 1960, 1963, 1976 and 1977

Rajinder Krishan ( 42 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- One of the original greats of the golden era, Rajinder Krishan often teamed with music directors who were known for creating classy songs. One of his songs was Number 1 in 1969,, whereas two of his songs finished at Number 2 in 1954 and 1968.

Shakeel Badayuni (40 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Another original lyrical great, he mostly teamed up with Naushad. Songs penned by him attained Number 2 positions in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1955, 1960 and 1962.

Anjaan (22 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Anjaan mostly worked in 1980s with Bappi Lahiri. His songs topped the Binaca getmala finals in 1979 and 1981.

Gulshan Bawra (20 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Gulshan Bawra had a chequered career.One of the songs written by him was number 1 in 1973.

Gulzar(15 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Shailendra like penman of later years, Gulzar only had 15 songs in Binaca geetmala finals. The highest rank achieved by his songs was 5th position in 1975.

Bharat Vyas (12 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Bharat Vyas mainly wrote lyrics in C grade movies such as mythologicals etc. One of his songs written for one such mythological movies topped the Binaca geetmala list in 1957.

S H Bihari (12 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- It is a big surprise to find that S H Bihari had only 12 songs in Binaca geetmala finals. He teamed up with O P Nayyar during the heydays of the latter. Still it was much later and with Laxmikant Pyarelal that he had his best placing, viz Number 2 position in 1985.

Prem Dhawan ( 11 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Prem Dhawan's songs made infrequnt appearances in Binaca geetmala. His best finish was Number 6 in 1954.

Raja Mehdi Ali Khan (10 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- It is a big surprise to note that Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, the favourite lyricist of Madan Mohan, appears in Binaca geetmala finals only 10 times. Many of his songs, which are regarded as classics, failed to appear in Binaca geetmala finals. The best finish for him in Binaca geetmala was 2nd position in 1966, in association with Madan Mohan.

Neeraj (10 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Another good lyricist, Neeraj had only 10 of his songs making it to Binaca geetmala finals. His best finish was 3rd position in 1970 Binaca geetmala finals and 8th positions in 1964 and 1969.

Verma Malik ( 8 Binaca geetmala finals song)- Verma Malik had briefly become a favourite of Laxmikant Pyarelal, and during this period, Verma Malik secured top position in the Binaca finals of 1975,and second position in the finals of 1987.

Qamar Jalalabadi (7 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- It is another surprise that a lyricist as senior as Qamar Jalalabadi should have so few of his songs making it to the Binaca geetmala finals. His best finish was in 1971, at the fag end of his career, when his great comical song "Guni janon bhakt janon", became number 4 in the finals.

Javed Akhtar (7 Binaca geetmala finals songs )-Unlike music directors, where we had quite a few instances of sons emulating their fathers in the same job, Javed Akhtar is among very few who followed in his father's ( Jaan Nissar Akhtar)footsteps. In fact, he had more Binaca geetmala songs to his credit than his father. One of his songs attained 8th position in 1985.

Ravindra Jain ( 6 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- He was one of the very few music directors who was a lyricist too. One of his songs as lyricist as well as music director became the number 1 song in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1978.

Pradeep (5 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Pradeep was a much bigger personality than his meagre 5 appearances in Binaca geetmala finals suggest. And ironically, his best finish was in 1976 for a mythological movie that became a surprising hit and the title song written by Pradeep ("main to aarti utaaroon re, Santoshi mata ki") became Number 3 in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1976.

Farooq Kaisar (5 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Quite a chequered career this for Farooq Kaisar. His best finish was number 10 in 1987.

Santosh Anand (5 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Like Verma Malik, he promised a lot, but failed to live up to that promise. His best finish was number 2 in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1981.

Sawan Kumar ( 5 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Sawan Kumar hit upon the winning formula of making movies on "Soutan" theme, where he also wrote the lyrics and Usha Khanna, his ex wife would give the music. This partnership earned them the top slot in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1983.

Hasan Kamal (5 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- One of the better lyricists to emerge in the 1980s, Hasan Kamal had just 5 songs in Binaca geetmala finals. One out of these five songs became number 2 in 1983.

Asad Bhopali (4 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- another underachieving lyricist in Binaca geetmala. His best finish was number 6 in 1962.

Jaan Nissar Akhtar ( 4 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- It is a big surprise to note that Jaan Nissar Akhtar fared so poorly in Binaca geetmala. His 9th position in 1956, where he teamed with O P Nayyar, remained his best in Binaca geetmala finals.

Kaifi Azmi ( 4 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Another huge shock, but we must keep it in mind that Kaifi Azmi, like Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, typically worked with Madan Mohan, and the classy songs created by them would more oftn than not fail to make it in the popularity stakes. None of his Haqeeqat songs appeared in Binaca geetmala finals. The best finish for him in Binaca finals were the 3rd positions in 1967 and1972.

Amir Qazalbash ( 3 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- A lyricist who debuted in 1980s, his three songs includes one that finished number 10 in 1982.

Pt Narendra Sharma (2 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- One of the giants of early days of Bollywood and Radio,Pt Narendra Sharma had just two songs in Binaca geetmala, including a song that finished 18th in 1978. It is yet another instance where class failed to find favour with masses.

Yogesh (2 Binaca geetmala finals song )- I am sure everyone would be surprised that Yogesh had only two songs in Binaca geetmala finals. 7th position in 1971 was his best achievement in Binaca geetmala finals.

Naqsh Llayalpuri ( 2 Binaca geetmala finals song)- another big underachiever in Binaca geetmala finals. His best achievement was number 23rd position in 1971.

M G Hashmat (2 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- His debut year saw him topping the Binaca geetmala finals list in 1974, but his career failed to take off.

Amit Khanna (2 Binaca geetmala finals songs )- Best finish was 9th in 1978

Shaharyar ( 2 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-Best finish was 8th in 1982

One songs each

Noor Lucknowi (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 14th in 1954

Ghalib (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 12th in 1955.

Uddhav Kumar (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 13th in 1955

Shamim Jaipuri ( 1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 3rd in 1960

Kidar Sharma (1 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-20th in 1961

G L Rawal ( 1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 20th in 1967

Shewan Rizwi (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 24th in 1969

Dev Kohli ( 1 Binaca geetmala finals song )- 18th in 1972

Nazaan Sholapuri ( 1 Binaca geetmala finals song )- 9th in 1975

Gauhar Kanpuri ( 1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 16th in 1975

Nida Fazli (1 Binaca geetmala finals song )- 29th in 1981

Prakash Mehra (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 2nd in 1982 ( alongwith Anjaan)

Vasant Dev (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)- 33rd in 1985

Music directors in Binaca geetmala

2008-07-17T19:03:00.029+05:30

Binaca geetmala was a barometer of popularity of songs, which in those days of primitive technology was not very scientific as it was based on sales of records and votes of Listeners clubs. Records were unaffordable for common man so the quantity of records sold were quite abysmal really. Binaca geetmala considered sales of records of only about 40 record sellings outlets in 7 or 8 cities. But this was later discarded and the radio listener clubs were developed.These listeners clubs ( about 200 odd in numbers) would decide the popularity of songs and advise Binaca geetmala.

Of course,popularity of songs were not necessarily proportional to quality of songs. Many of the old songs that became very popular subsequently fared poorly in Binaca geetmala, and some of these songs even failed to appear in the annual countdown of Binaca geetmala on the last wednesday of the year. If songs were released late in the year, then the songs would fall between two stools. They neither ranked high in the year of their release, nor did they qualify for next year's coundown, as they would become previous year's song by then.

For the sake of this discussion, I have assumed that Binaca geetmala was the one hour programme broadcast on Radio Ceylon (later called SLBC) from 1954 to 1987. From 1988,this programme was taken off SLBC.For all practical purposs, this programme came to an end there.

We had programmes variously called Cibaca sangeetmala, Cibaca geetmala, Colgate Cibaca Geetmala etc on Vividh Bharati, but these could hardly be called Binaca geetmala because these later programmes were half an hour programmes, and moreover, the Radio listeners clubs, which were the backbone of judging the popularity of Binaca geetmala shows were well and truly defunct by that time. So, for our purpose, Binaca geetmala programme was the one hour countdown programme that was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1954 to 1987.

Based on the songs played in Binaca geetmala finals during this 34 years period, here is how various music directors fared in Binaca geetmala:

Laxmikant Pyarelal( 174 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Laxmikant Pyarelal, who made their debut in Binaca geetmala finals in 1963 with their debut movie "Parasmani" would go on to become the most prolific music director in the history of Binaca geetmala.During their long and illustrious career, Laxmikant Pyarelal won the top position in Binaca geetmala finals in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1975,1980,1984,1986 and 1987. In fact, the pale shodow of Binaca geetmala that was subsequently broadcast for a few years ( which I do not regard as Binaca geetmala for this article) also saw Laxmikant Pyarelal earn two more top positions- in 1989 and 1993.

Laxmikant Pyarelal were statistically the most successful music directors in the history of Binaca geetmala.

Shankar Jaikishan ( 133 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- The most successful music directors in the early days of Binaca geetmala were this amazingly prolific and successful music director duo known as Shankar Jaikishan.Their songs finished first in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1955,1961,1962,1964,1966 and 1971.And considering that they notched their wonderful run in Binaca geetmala while competing against many all time great music directors at their best, the achievements of Shankar Jaikishan just boggles the mind.

RD Burman( 118 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-Chip of the old block,the son of S D Burman started his career in 1961 with Chote Nawab, and then cooled his heels for a few years, before he started to serve notice on the old guard of Bollywood music world. And before one could realise what was happening, the old guard, despite continuing to churn great music, found themselves out of work. That is how strongly the hurricane Pancham and Hurricane Kishore Kumar hit the Bollywood music world in late 1960s and early 1970s.

Surprisingly, despite the overwhelming dominance of R D Burman in Binaca geetmala for much of 1970s, R D Burman had just one first place finish in Binaca geetmala finals- and it was in 1972.But statistics like this do not do him proper justice. He was the most influential music director of Bollywood of that era( circa 1966-80)who changed the taste of public for good.

Kalyanji Anandji(74 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Kalyanji Anandji were just as resilient as Laxmikant Pyarelal, who could hold their own despite changing tastes of the public. They made their debut in Binaca geetmala 1960 and survived till late 1980s. Their songs topped the list of Binaca geetmala finals in 1965, 1973,1974, 1979 and 1981. Quite impressive, one must say.

S D Burman(55 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- S D Burman was already an established music director when Binaca geetmala countdown show began in 1954. And it was a S D Burman composition that had the honour of becoming the first ever top song of the year in 1954. S D Burman's songs topped the Binaca finals lists in 1958 and 1959 as well.

Ravi(46 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Ravi was one music director who survived almost the entire duration of Binaca geetmala from 1954 to 1980s.Making his debut as a music director and in Binaca geetmala with the memorable lori-"Chanda mama door ke" (Vachan),Ravi's songs never topped Binaca geetmala finals, but he came close on a few occasions.His songs finished second in 1958,1960 and 1983 and third in 1963,1968 and 1983.

Bappi Lahiri(44 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Bappi Lahiri, whose debut movie Zakhmee (1975) had some decent songs, and who began as a poor man's R D Burman soon jumped into the bandwagon of chalu songs, which saw him emulating R D Burman as a singer cum music director- and he would sing for Mithun Da, poor man's Amitabh Bachchan.His other brand of Chalu songs were for Jeetendra. Despite being a very popular music director in 1980s, Bappi Lahiri never had the satisfaction of seeing any of his songs reach number 1 in the Binaca geetmala finals, though a few of his songs came close and finished second in 1982 and 1984 and third in 1982,1984,1985 and 1986.

Naushad(34 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Naushad was already a legendary music director when Binaca geetmala began. Naushad's songs never topped Binaca geetmala finals. But his songs were number 2 in 1955 and 1962 and third in 1964.

O P Nayyar(33 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-O P Nayyar was just as influential in 1950s as was R D Burman in 1970s. And O P Nayyar rewrote the rules. His influence cannot be properly gauged by looking at the cold Binaca geetmala statistics, which shows that he made his debut in 1955 and he had just one top finish in Binaca geetmala finals- in 1956. O P Nayyar was a far more influential music director than what his Binaca geetmala statistics suggest.

Rajesh Roshan (28 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Chip of the old block, Rajesh Roshan got third position in Binaca geetmala in his debut year of 1975. And he managed the pole position in Binaca geetmala finals of 1982, thus emulating his father,Late Roshan's feat, who had achieved it some two decades back.

Madan Mohan(24 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Considering how most of his movies fell flat at the box office,and his music appealed more to classes than masses, Madan Mohan's music did quite well in Binaca geetmala popularity stakes. One second place finish in 1966 and one top finish (posthumously) in 1977 is not bad for Madan Mohan, who had the mortification of seeing many of his top songs failing to even make it to Binaca geetmala finals,though they won rave reviews and even national award.

Roshan(17 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-Roshan was at the peak of his creative abilities when he died. And so his 17 Binaca geetmala entries do not do him justice. Two of these 17 compostions earned him top positions in Binaca geetmala finals in 1960 and 1963.

Salil Chowdhary(15 Binaca geetmala finals)- All of Salil Chowdhary's 15 Binaca geetmala songs are classics, which are evergreen even today.His best ranking in Binaca geetmal finals was 5th position in 1958 and 7th in 1956 and 1971.

Hemant Kumar(14 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Another one who was there in Binaca geetmala right from the beginning. Hemant Kumar was a music director as well as a singer. His 14 songs as music director include second position in 1954 binaca geetmala finals, and third position the next year ( both for the same song). Hemant Kumar also topped the Binaca geetmala 1958 finals list- this time as a singer.

Usha Khanna(12 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- The only lady music director to have figured in Binaca geetmala finals ( not that there were too many of them to begin with), Usha Khanna made her debut in Binaca geetmala in 1958. She has had only 12 songs in the Binaca geetmala finals, but one of them was top of the finals chart- in 1983.

C Ramchandra(8 Binaca finals songs)- Here is another music director whose influence on Bollywood music cannot be gauged just by going through the list of his Binaca geetmala songs. His influence can be felt in Bollywood music even today, and many of his memorable songs never made it to Binaca geetmala because they were composed before the days of Binaca geetmala.

The highest rank that his songs reached in Binaca finals was 6th in 1955, but as mentioned above, his Binaca geetmala statistics do no justice to this all time great music director.

Chitragupt(8 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Chitragupta, the father of Anand Milind, and Sulakshana and Vijayeta Pandit,was mainly confined to grade C movies- viz stunt and mythological movies, and their songs normally did not become popular enough to figure in Binaca geetmala. But Chitragupta managed to buck the trend whenever he got a chance.The highest that his songs reached in Binaca geetmala finals was 8th position in 1958, but what a song it was- "Chal ud ja re panchi ke ab ye desh hua begana" from "Bhabhi".

N Dutta (7 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- A highly underestimated and underutilised music director, who has become largely forgotten. But can we forget his Binaca geetmala songs? And he managed a position as high as number 3 for one of his compositions in 1957.

Khayyam(7 Binaca geetmala finals songs). Though Khayyam was a senior music director who made his debut in 1959, his Binaca geetmala appearances were few and far between.One song in 1959,next in 1967 ( in 3rd position) and the next appearance was in 1976 with two songs( one of them ending up at number 1 position). Then his next appearances were in 1980, 1981 and 1982.

Ravindra Jain (7 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Ravindra Jain became the regular lyricist cum music director for Rajshri productions in 1970s, and his 7 songs include two songs which finished number 1- one in 1978, another in 1985.

Vasant Desai(7 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-Vasant Desai was a much better music director than what his paltry 7 Binaca geetmala finals appearances show.Madan Mohan considered Vasant Desai as his alter ego. Vasant Desai, before he met a tragic death, had composed some nice songs.In fact,two of his songs finished second and fourth in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1956.

Anu Malik(6 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-Son of Sardar Malik, Anu Malik was one who was known for composing chalu songs in 1980s and beyond.5th position in 1986 was the highest that his songs reached in Binaca geetmala.

Jaidev(5 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Another music director who deserved better than what he got.He made his debut in 1961 with "Hum dono" amd a song from this movie finished number 2 in the Binaca geetmala finals of 1961. Unfortunately, Jaidev was not given enough opportunities to prove his worth.His next apprearances were in 1974, 1977 and 1978, and that was it.

Biddu(5 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-His "aap jaisa koi" became an unexpected hit, and that made Nazia Hassan a big star.This song, which finished number 4 in Binaca geetmala finals 1980 had purists disgusted.Style without substance could not be sustained for long. Happily for Bollywood music, hardly anyone remembers his music any more, even though his music had become a big rage in those days.

Sonik Omi(3 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- The uncle nephew duo had acted as assistants to many music directors viz Madan Mohan, Roshan etc, before they tried their hands as independent music directors. Though they gave some scintillating music in the few opportunities that they got, Binaca geetmala was not too kind to their music. Their absolutely wonderful musical blockbuster "Dil ne phir yaad kiya" could only garner one lowly spot. Same were the fates of their songs in "Saawan Bhaado" and "Dharma". Just three ongs from these three musical blockbusters were poor return for this music director duo.

Ghulam Mohammad(3 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-His first appearance in Binac geetmala finals was in 1955 at number 12, and the next two appearances came in 1972, at number 2 and three positions- that is all Ghulam Mohammad achieved in Binaca geetmala finals.

Sardar Malik(2 Binaca geetmala finals appearances)-His two appearnces were in 1961 for "Saarangaa" at number 8 and 18.

S N Tripathi(2 Binaca geetmala finals appearnces)- Like Chitragupta, S N Tripathi too was the music director for C grade moview viz mythologicals. But two of his mythological movie songs became so popular that these two songs were elevated to the level of Binaca geetmala finalists. And one of them actually became a surprise number 1 in 1957 finals.Number 1 in 1957, number 6 in 1959,both for C grade mythological movies- were the two Binaca geetmala finals appearances for S. N. Tripathi.

Shiv Hari(2 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-Long time asistants to music directors- Shiv-Hari (Shiv Kumar Sharma- santoor exponent and Hari Prasad Chaurasiya- flute exponent)tried their hands as independent music directors, but lack of opportunities hampered their growth.

Uttam Jagdish(2 Binaca geetmala finals songs)- Both songs were in Painter Babu, a box office disaster that was made to launch the career of Manoj Kumar's son.The songs were 21st and 25th in the 1983 finals list.

Jagjit Singh( 2 Binaca geetmala finals songs)-Both songs were from Arth, a 1983 movie.One appeared in Binaca finals 1983, and the other in 1984 finals.

Anil Biswas( 1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-5th in 1954 Binaca geetmala finals

Dattaram(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-21st in 1958

Ramlal(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-11th in 1965

G S Kohli (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-20th in 1964

Husnlal Bhagatram(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-15th in 1954

Jagmohan Sursagar(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-13th in 1955

Sudhir Phadke(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-29th in 1962, but what a song! "Jyot Kalash chalke"

Sapan Jagmohan(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-23rd in 1971

Timir Baran (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-8th in 1954

Shyamal Mitra (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-7th in 1975. This song " Dil aisa kisi ne mera toda" earned Kishore Kumar and Indeevar the awards for best singer and lyricist respectively, but the music director was left high and dry.

Aziz Nazan (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-"jhoom barabar jhoom sharabi"-A popular quawwali from "Five Rifles" produced by I S Johar.

Brij Bhushan(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-35th in 1973. The immortal song-"kai sadiyon se, kai janmon se" from "Milaap"

Snehal Bhatkar(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-1961 movie "Hamari yaad aayegi".Lyrics by Kidar Sharma and sung superbly by Mubarak Begum-"Kabhi tanhaayion mein yoon hamari yaad aayegi" which is regarded as a classic song by music buffs.

Kishore Kumar(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-Kishore Kumar was the music director in the movie Jhumroo. He earned 7th position for Jhumroo song "Koi humdum na raha, koi sahara na raha" in 1961 Binaca geetmala finals.

C Arjun (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-"main to aarti utaaroon re",the title song of the surprise hit "Jai santoshi maa". This song was 3rd in 1976 Binaca geetmala finals.

Ram Laxman (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-15th in 1980 from Tarana-"Sultana Sultana, mera naam hai Sultana"

Ghulam Ali(1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-"chupke chupke raat din aansoobahana yaad hai". 30th in 1983 Binaca geetmala finals.

Remo Fernandes (1 Binaca geetmala finals song)-From Jalwa."Dekho Dekho ye hai jalwa".8th in 1987.

Manna Dey in Binaca geetmala finals

2008-07-16T14:58:00.034+05:30

Manna Dey mainly sang semi classical songs in movies which had fewer takers compared to popular songs sung by others.And he was offered only such songs to sing. As a result,Manna Dey songs had difficulty competing against popular numbers, though his songs were regarded highly by people who appreciated class.

Despite not enjoying any great mass appeal, his songs managed to find places in the Binaca geetmala finals countdowns. And most of his finals appearances were in 1950s and 60s, which was the golden era of Bollywood movie songs.

Many top class Manna Dey songs, which are now regarded as all time great classics, failed to find places in the Binaca geetmala finals, viz the songs of "Dekh Kabeera Roya", a musical blockbuster of 1957.But what do you expect, when the singer as well as music director ( Madan Mohan)concentrated on creating eternal music rather than ephemeral music catering to the prevalent popular musical tastes? It is always advisable to take the list of Binaca geetmala songs as the list of mass popularity at that time, rather than as a barometer of quality of the songs.If "Kaun aaya mere man ke dware" (Dekh Kabeera roya), "Dil ka haal sune dilwala" (Shri 420), "Ae mere pyare watan" (kabuliwala), "laga chunri mein daag" (dil hi to hai)and "Ek chatur naar"(Padosan) could not find places in Binaca geetmala finals then it is an indictment on the limitations of Binaca geetmala rather than on the calibre of these songs.

Here is the list of songs sung by Manna Dey that appeared in Binaca geetmala finals:

1956

16.Aajaa sanam madhur chaandni mein hum (Chori Chori) Singers-Lata & Manna Dey,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-Shankar-Jaikishan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLSijkWwC9Y

4.Nirbal se ladaai balwaan ki (Toofan Aur Diya) Singer-Manna Dey,Lyrics-Bharat Vyas,MD-Vasant Desai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBAY7LlTvmk

3.Tu pyaar ka saagar hai(Seema,1955) Singer-Manna Dey,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD-Shankar-Jaikishan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QM8ohMGneY

1957

14.Nain mile chain kahaan (Basant Bahar,1956)Singers-Lata & Manna Dey,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD- Shankar-Jaikishan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbn4fCjjjTI

1958

21.Maama o maama o maama maama (Parvarish)Singers-Rafi & Manna Dey,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-Dattaram

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CvTl8Lv12M

1959

23.Baabu samjho ishaare hauran pukaare(Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi,1958)Singers-Kishore Kumar & Manna Dey,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xaPYdJ_pjw

9.O kali anaar ki na itna sataao (Chhoti Behan)Singers-Manna Dey & Asha,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-Shankar-Jaikishan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwMllqJZhZw&feature=related

7.Jhoomta mausam mast maheena (Ujala)Singers-Manna Dey & Lata,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-Shankar-Jaikishan

1962

32.Dil ki tamanna thi masti mein (GyarahHazaarLadkiyan)Singers-Rafi,Asha,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-N Dutta

1965

3.Aao twist karen (Bhoot Bangla)Singer-Manna Dey,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lokpohoCyF8

1966

9.Usko naheen dekha humne kabhi(Daadi Maa)Singers-Mahendra kapoor,Manna Dey,MD- Roshan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtxAdHack-w

1968

28.Qasme Vaade Pyar Wafa (Upkaar,1967)Singer-Manna Dey,Lyrics-Gulshan Baawra,MD- Kalyanji-Anandji

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gJs-MraG4EU

1970

19.Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke chalo(Mera Naam Joker) Singer-Manna Dey, Lyrics-Neeraj,MD-Shankar-Jaikishan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHpWtrPVhls

1971

7.Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli (Anand)Music- Salil Chaudhury Lyrics- Yogesh Singer- Manna Dey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVEtwPO6rk8

1973

1.Yaari hai imaan mera yaar (Zanjeer)Singer-Manna Dey,Lyrics-Gulshan Baawra,MD- Kalyanji-Anandji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUyirZ0PtcE

1976

9.Yeh dosti hum naheen chhodenge (Sholay,1975)Singers-Kishore,Manna Dey,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck77d3joH6I

Ameen Sayani and Binaca Geetmala

2008-07-12T11:42:00.028+05:30

Having discussed radio and radio stations of interest in great detail, now it is time for me to discuss the most famous Indian radio personality of our times. And no prizes for guessing who it is. It is none other than Ameen Sayani, famous for his legendary Binaca geetmala countdown show. Of course there is more to him than just this show, as we will see in some other article.

Radio Ceylon had commenced its overseas service broadcasts in late 1940s/ early 1950s with radio transmitters left behind by British troops stationed in Ceylon during the second world war. Radio Ceylon's overseas service included transmissions in English and Hindi. For English transmissions, radio Ceylon recruited announcers from Sri Lanka and abroad.One of the Indians recruited was Hameed Sayani.For Hindi transmission, they obviously recruited only Indians, one of them being Balraj Dutt, later to become famous as Sunil Dutt, the well known Bollywood film star.

These services were mainly music based. English language music was played in the English service and Bollywood filmy music was played in the Hindi service.

As these services became popular in India( the main target for these broadcasts, especially the Hindi service), Indian advertisers began to advertise in these services. They also began to sponsor programmes.

Most sponsored programmes were naturally in Hindi, a language that was understood by a large population in India as well as in the other countries in the region. The first few sponsored programmes in the Hindi service were Ovaltine fulwari,Lux ke sitare etc.

While the radio Ceylon announcers were based in Colombo and presented their inhouse programmes live from their studios there, most of the English sponsored programmes were recorded in Colombo,and the Hindi sponsored programmes were recorded in Bombay and the tapes were then airlifted to Colombo for broadcast.For this purpose, Radio Ceylon had opened their agency at Bombay in 1951 and Hameed Sayani was made the head of production. These programmes were recorded in the technical institute of St Xavier's college, Bombay.

Ameen Sayani was a student of this college, and he would show interest in the recording process. He requested his elder brother to get him some work, but Hameed Sayani refused, stating that there were very few English programmes, which he himself was doing, and as for Hindi programmes, they could not be given to Ameen Sayani because Ameen Sayani did not know the language ! Yes, it was true. Ameen Sayani had fluency in Gujrati and English, but he could not speak in Hindi, though he could read the scripts of Hindi as well as Urdu thanks to his exposure to reading the trilingual( Hindi,Urdu,Gujrati) newspaper that his mother used to get published.

One of the Hindi sponsored programmes being recorded those days was called Ovaltine fulwari.One day, when the designated compere Mammohan Krishna(later a character artiste in Bollywood)did not turn up, the producer Mr Srivastava offered the job of announcement to Ameen Sayani, and that way, Ameen Sayani got his first break as an announcer in an Hindi sponsored programme and he became the regular presenter of this programme. His remuneration- one tin of ovaltine per episode! And that one tin of ovaltine ( a health food) per week was the secret of his health and energy- as Ameen Sayani would jocularly say later.

Binaca,a Ceiba Giegy company, which was sponsoring a weekly countdown programme of English songs already in the English service, decided to replicate the same in Hindi service too. They had a limited budget of Rs 125 per episode, and it was to be in the form of a half an hour weekly programme where some popular Bollywood songs would be played. It was not planned to be a countdown show that it would later become.

The format was that the presenter of the programme would play 7 songs within half an hour in a random order and the audience would be asked to rank them in the correct order of popularity.One listener whose ranking matched with the correct order of popularity would get a cash prize.

It was envisaged that the programme would attract about 50 letters per week from the listeners(because Binaca countdown show in English used to receive 400-500 letters a week), and the job of going through them to pick the winner was also in the job description of the presenter.

Ameen Sayani was chosen for this job, mainly because no other announcer was prepared to do this gruelling job for the meagre remuneration that was on offer.His remuneration this time was thankfully in cash(Rs 25 per episode out of that Rs 125 budget) and not in form of Binaca toothpaste. But when the first episode was broadcast and the letters were received, they did not arrive in trickes as was expected, it poured. Instead of letters in the range of 40-50, about 9000 were received ! Ameen Sayani must have felt like he was being taken for a ride by the sponsors, being made to do so much work for just Rs 25. He soldiered on nevertheless, and the programme became even more popular.

Next week it was 16000 letters, and it kept increasing, and one weak it became 65,000.After about an year and a half, the sponsors decided to make it a one hour show and a countdown programme for Bollywood songs. It was now no longer necessary for Ameen Sayani to wade through thousands of letters per week to pick the winners.

Ameen Sayani's remuneration was increased to Rs 100 per episode once Binaca geetmala became a one hour programme. And he got this amount for 10 more years.

The format of Binaca geetmala countdown show that was explained to Ameen Sayani ( it was similar to the format of English language show the Binaca hit parade),had Ameen Sayani thoroughly confused. But then he took pains to understand the format, and patiently explained it to his listeners,using the example of ladder and its steps ( seedhi and paydan) to explain how a song climbed up and down based on its popularity vis a vis other songs. It was like explaining the game of cricket to someone totally unfamiliar to the game. And within three episodes, the listeners became conversant with the format.

In the earlier days of Binaca geetmala,popularity of a song was judged on the basis of sales of records(from 40 record selling shops) and also based on farmaishes for these songs. But it was found that the farmaishes were being manipulated by interested parties like music directors and film producers, so farmaishes were discarded as a means of judging poplularity of songs, and it was replaced by listeners club, which became a very important part in ensuring the success of Binaca geetmala.

Ameen Sayani was also involved in radio publicity of many movies through 15 minutes ads on radio Ceylon, which mainly consisted of playing songs from the movies, but he as well as Hindustan Ceiba Geigy Ltd, the sponsors of Binaca geetmala were very particular that the sanctity and impartiality of Binaca geetmala ranking of songs should be maintained at all costs, despite Ameen Sayani being involved in radio publicity of several of these movies.

And there have been no suggestions that it was not the case. And that is why this programme became such a well loved and well listened to programme wherever the radio waves of radio Ceylon( broadcasting on 25 and 41 meter band) could reach. And these radio waves covered entire India sub continent, as well as Eastern parts of Africa.

Ameen Sayani was the presenter of this show throughout its 40 plus years. There were some occasions when he was unable to present a few episodes. For example, I recall a few episodes in mid 1970s that were presented by Manohar Mahajan because Ameen Sayani was not available. But otherwise, Ameen Sayani it was, even when he was not well. Like for instance, he lost his voice after going to a small place called Dhuliya. "There was so much dhool in Dhuliya that some have entered my lungs and I am unable to speak", said Ameen Sayani, and presented this episode in an un Ameen Sayani like voice.

Was Ameen Sayani happy with the ranking of songs ? Not always. He was a musically trained person, and he appreciated quality music. And it always bothered him when good quality music missed out from making it to Binaca geetmala, because they did not become popular with lay public. For instance, Ameen Sayani laments the fact that a song as brilliant as "Man re tu kahe na dheer dhare" (Chitralekha 1964) failed to make it big in Binaca geetmala.

Later on, things became worse, when some lesser calibre songs became so popular that Ameen Sayani would play them under "protest". For example, he made his disappointment known in no uncertain terms while playing "Aap jaisa koi" sung by Nazia Hassan in 1980 Binaca geetmala programmes as the top song in his weekly programmes. Things became even worse after a decade, when "Choli ke peeche kya hai" was becoming the rage. Ameen Sayani would not play this song, he would just mention that this song was the number 1 song for the week.

Public taste was changing, the golden era of Bollywood music was drawing to a close, and the deterioration in the calibre of songs that were becoming the top songs of the year were for all to see. Good as the songs may be, but finding songs like "mere angne me tumhara kya kaam hai" and "Choli ke peeche kya hai" as the top songs of the year is jarring to those who appreciate quality music. So Ameen Sayani was getting disillusioned in 1980s.

Finally, the TV revolution in India meant that the golden era of Binaca geetmala too was drawing to an inevitable close.Radio Ceylon ( it had become Sri Lanka broadcasting corporation in 1972) were no longer able to attract sponsorships as before. So the Binaca geetmala finally ended in SLBC in 1988.

It was then moved to Vividh Bharati, and there it ran upto 1995.During this time, it came to be known as Cibaca geetmala.

It can be said, therefore that Binaca geetmala ran upto 1988. Vividh Bharati's Binaca ( Cibaca) geetmala did not cause the same kind of following because times had changed, and masses had given up the habit of listening to radio in favour of TV watching.

I think Binaca geetmala ran its course, and ended at the right time,or perhaps it ended a few years too late.Personally, I find it painful to go through the list of binaca geetmala songs after the 1970s.There are good songs in the list of songs no doubt, but many dubious quality songs had begun to appeal to the audience in a big way beginning from 1980 onwards.

It goes without saying that this programme was a wonderful milestone in radio broadcasting history. Those who were lucky enough to have lived in that era and followed this programme, witnessed and helped create an amazing phenomenon. And this phenomenon may never be replicated again.It was too good to last. And we were lucky that it lasted that long.

PS. Ameen Sayani has given many interviews in which he has mentioned a few facts that have been discussed in this article. Some of the interviews with Ameen Sayani that are available on internet, where he discusses these items are-(a) interview with Kamla Bhatt ( of Kamla Bhatta show),(b) interview with Janib Ghazi(of Asia Broadcasting Network)and (c)one interview with Piyush Mehta ( Vividh Bharti announcer -available in youtube). Ameen Sayani has said more or less similar things in all these interviews.

Garibi Hatao (Remove poverty)

2008-07-11T06:25:00.005+05:30

Twentyfive years into independence, the initial euphoria of gaining independence was wearing off. The ruling Congress party was facing threats from other parties. The party needed a new plank to rally its workers.

Mrs Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister, came up with the slogan- "Garibi Hatao"( Remove Poverty).

The instructions were cyclostyled ( cyclostyling was the grandpa of photostating or Xeroxing) and sent to all ministeries.

Finance minister looked at the instruction and thought- "I will do a Robinhood and snatch money from the rich and distribute them to the poor." So, privy purse of rulers who had agreed to merge their territories into Indian union were abolished, dishounouring the agreement that Government of India had entered with them 20 years ago. The 14 biggest private sector banks were nationalised.

Health Minister received the instruction. The cyclostyled copy was not very clear and he could make out the words as " Garib Hatao" ( Remove poor). So he gave the instructions that Garibs should be hataoed. His minions tried to do it through various means- forced sterialisations, uprooting slums,depriving them of healthcare etc., but the efforts were only partially successful.

Railway minister looked at the instruction and ordered the Chairman, Railway Board-" Look, we have to Remove Poverty. Make sure that no poverty is seen in Indian Railways trains".

The chairman thought and hit upon an idea. Suddenly it was found that there was no poverty in the trains of Indian Railways. No one was travelling in third class any longer.Everyone travelled second class and above.

Everyone was mightily impressed, except me. I was sceptical. I tried to investigate the matter. I wanted to travel by third class, but I could not because there were no third class coaches to be found on any trains.

I asked a railway employee- "Where can I find a third class coach?".
"There are no third class coaches left" was the reply.
"But why?"
"We were asked to withdraw all third class coaches from service."
"Then what happened to those who travelled by third class ?"
"They now travel by second class."
"What happened to third class coaches?"
"Withdrawn from service".
"Where are they kept".
"No comment".
"How did you get so many additional second class coaches to cater to the erstwhile third class travellers?"
"No comment".

I looked this way and that,found that the coast was clear and slipped a one rupee note into the palm of the Railway employee. Looking at the note, he suddenly turned friendly and took me to a corner.
" I am telling this to you in strict confidence. Make sure that this stays between you and me."
"Yes, sure ,sure", I assured him.
" We have withdrawn third class coaches and we have replaced them by same numer of second class coaches".
"But where are the withdrawn third class coaches?How did you get so many additional second class coaches so fast".
"You are more intelligent than your age suggests," he remarked," A Railway dibba is not like a Machis ka dibba that you can buy 12 of them for five paise. Each new coach costs several lakhs of Rupees and only 600 of them can be manufactured per year. Here we are talking of replacing thirty thousand coaches.".

"So what did you do?"
" We converted the third class coaches into second class coaches."
"You did that? Good idea. That would certainly be cheaper than scrapping third class coaches and manufacturing second class coaches. How much did it cost you to convert them?"
" Make your guess, I will allow you four guesses"
" umm Rs one thousands per coach?"
"No",
"Rs two thousands?",
"No".
Rs three thousands?",
" No,"
"Rs five thosands?",
"No".

Exasperated, I asked, "O.K, now tell me how much it cost you to convert one third class coach into a second class coach?" "OK, kid, I will tell you, it cost two rupees".
"Two rupees" I was aghast,"are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure".
"But how?"

He took me to a second class coach.
"see, this is a second class coach".
" Yes, I see".
"Now go inside".
I went inside and exclaimed, " but this is a third class coach".
" No it is a second class coach".
"What is the difference between this and the old third class coaches?"
"Look", he showed me the marking outside the coach," Earlier there used to be III painted over the coach to indicate that it is a third class coach. Now we have erased I to make it II. So now it is a second class coach."
Is that all?"
" Yes, that is all the difference between erstwhile third class and the modified second class coaches".
" So you are taking the public for a ride, calling this a second class coach."
"Do not feel bad, lad, the ticket for these coaches is same as that for the erstwhile third class coaches. To differentiate these from the existing second class coaches, we call these new coaches unreserved second class coaches. The existing second class coaches are called reserved second class coaches. Everyone, the public, the Railway employees, the Government- is happy with the arrangement. So cheer up, boy."

So,I learnt that there could be more than one method of Hataoing Garibi. Later, I found that this kind of thinking is called "lateral thinking" or "thinking out of the box."

P.S.
In Calcutta, the top brass of Hindustan Motors were called for a meeting. Sethji said-" Look, we have been selling our Ambassador car for last 15 years at a fixed price. Now we have to increase the price."

Munimji- " But how can we increase the price?"
Sethji-" By telling people that we have improved the car."
Munimji-"But improving the car will cost money."
Sethji-" Do not be silly."
Munimji- " Then what do we do?"
Sethji- "Simple, our existing model is called Ambassador mark I. Let us add another I to it. Let us start calling it Ambassador Mark II and tell the public that we have upgraded the car involving considerable Research & Development at great cost."

That is how Hindustan Motors hit upon the idea of upgrading their car by just changing the numeral by I. They took their cue from Indian Railways. Indian Railways removed I to show progress. Hindustan Motors added I to show progress. It was that simple.

Jhumri Tilaiyya- the town of farmaish senders

2008-07-10T12:09:00.017+05:30

When one talks of Radio Ceylon, the first thing that comes to mind is Binaca geetmala and Ameen Sayani. What is the other thing that comes to mind ? It is the farmaishi programmes and the places from where the farmaishes would come. Small places whose names few people had heard of- Ganj Basoda,Mandi Bamora, Nanded, Gondia,Akola,Yavatmal.But the name that caught everyone's imagination was not these names, but a very cutely named place called Jhumri Talaiyya.

What exactly does Jhumri Talaiyya mean ? No one has any idea. Though much has been written about Jhumri Talaiyya, I am not sure if these writings have made us any wiser about this place.Let me try and address that.

I am not sure about Jhumri, but I am sure that the second portion of the name is Tilaiyya, not Talaiyya. Tilayya is a place located a few kilometers from Jhumri Tilayya on the Patna- Ranchi highway, and is known for Tilaiyya dam and Tilaiyya Sainik School.

Both Tilaiyya and Jhumri Tilaiyya are in Koderma district. This used to be in Bihar, but now,with the formation of Jharkhand state, this place is in Jharkhand and is located close to the Bihar Jharkhand border. Or one can say,drawing from our experience of say Delhi and New Delhi,or Hyderabad and Secunderabad- that Jhumri Tilaiyya and Tilaiyya are twin towns.

Those who were in school in 1970s and earlier and remember their geography lessons about various minerals, mica was one mineral that was used as an insulating material in electrical equipments, and India supplied almost the entire world requirement of mica. And almost the entire deposit of mica in the world and in India was found in the Koderma district of Bihar.

This mica mining is what led to the growth of Jhumri Tilaiyya which became the hub for mica business. The Sindhi businessmen, who came from outside and set the mica business became hugely rich. Jhumri Tilaiyya came into being because of mica. People were settled in Jhumri tilaiyya because of mica business. Serving the mica businessmen and workers was all that the people in Jhumri Tilaiyya needed to do.

The talk of Jhumri Tilaiyya always reminds me of the fictional town of Malgudi that R K Narayan created in 1930s. The description of Malgudi applies to Jhumri Tilaiyya as well, except that there was no railway station in Jhumri Tilaiyya.Jhumri Tilaiyya, the real town, had actually come into existence at about the same time when R K Narayan had created his fictional town of Malgudi.

As years rolled by and 1950s arrived, radio Ceylon came into existence and listening to radio became a good pastime for the residents of this sleepy little town nestled among hills.The radio Ceylon farmaishi programme "aap hi ke geet" caught their attention particularly well.

No one knows who was the first Jhumru ( Wow, I just coined a new term for a Jhumri Tilaiyyan) who sent in the request in this programme, but it appears that his request was successful and his name was read out by the announcer. In a small place where everyone knows everyone else, this fellow must have become an instant celebrity in his town. and this must have spurred on his fellow inhabitants to follow suit. Of course, like true small towners, they wanted to involve everyone else in their one minute of fame, so they would include the name of all their family members and friends, not forgetting to mention the names of their parents and grand parents too. And the announcers of radio Ceylon were kind enough to patiently read out all the names. In fact, the announcers took more time reading out the names than they spent in playing the request.

In those days,one judged the popularity of a movie by the length of the queue in front of the counter and the premium that the black marketers charged. Also the length for which the movie would run was a good indication of its popularity. Silver jubilee ( 25 weeks) and golden jubilee ( 50 weeks) in one movie hall were not uncommon for movies.

Similarly, the number of people who wanted to listen to a song could well have become a barometer to measure the popularity of a song. and there have been some suggestions that a few music directors may well have resorted to sending requests on behalf of Jhumri Tilaiyyans and others to artificially jack up the popularity of their songs. In those days, people could hurl accusations, but the trend of investigating such matters and coming out with a breaking news had not caught up. So no one knows if there was any truth in such allegations.

When Ameen Sayani was asked in interviews if he had been to Jhumri Tilaiyya then he replied in the negative. And that was a wise decision. People in that area were so starved of celebrities that even bit role players associated with Bollywood would be treated as superstars there if they ever found themselves in that part of the world. I recall that Paintal and Jalal Agha had come to Ranchi in 1970s, and more people had assembled to watch them than what you are likely to see in a rock concert. So one could well imagine what would have happened had Ameen Sayani gone to places like Ranchi, and indeed Jhumri tilaiyya.

Unlike Ameen Sayani,I have been to Jhumri Tilaiyya ( well, to Tilaiyya to be precise) a few times in 1980s while going from Patna to Ranchi and back. Assuming both to be the same town, I could say that it was a very small place, where people lived their lives cut off from the hustle bustle of big city lives. The fact that Jhumri Tilaiyya is not on the rail map also helped it maintain its isolation.

In fact, most farmaish happy places shared this in common with Jhumri Tilaiyya. They all were small one horse towns and were trading centres cut off from big cities. They were either not connected by rail, or if connected, it was the narrow gauge or meter gauge lines, not the broad gauge lines. Even if connected by broad gauge, express trains would not stop at these places. People in these places led unhurried leisurely lives.

Of course things have been changing of late. For instance,places like Akola,Nanded, Parbhani, all in Maharashtra, also shared the passion of sending farmaishes like Jhumri Tilaiyya . They were all small towns which were on the meter gauge lines, but they all now boast of broad gauge and they have become busy places. Of course,I have been to all these places, and in fact I saw it with my own eyes how the meter gauge lines were removed and BG lines came up in 1994.

I wonder if Jhumri Tilaiyya itself is the same any longer. But I can say that there are still small sleepy towns left in the country where one could go and experience an unhurried life style.Please go and experience it before such places gradually pass into history.

Radio Ceylon Hindi service- those were the days

2008-07-10T00:13:00.020+05:30

Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was called till 1970 tended to emulate India in many fields. For example it got Independance just after India. They too had a political dynasty ruling Sri Lanka just like India.Their lady PM imposed emergency in their country in 1970s just after the Indian lady PM did, and then revoked it,just after her Indian counterpart did,and ended up losing the general elections just like her Indian counterpart.

But there was one field in which Ceylon stole a march over India.It was in the field of radio broadcasting, where they did not look up to India.Good that they did not seek to emulate India in this field, because what the Indian I & B minister did to their government broadcaster ( he banned film music from being played in akashwani),if emulated, would have killed Radio Ceylon's Hindi service for ever. Instead, Radio Ceylon saw the marketing potential of playing the latest Bollywood filmy songs in their Hindi overseas service, and the rest, as they say, is glorious history.

Ceylon as a country was just as resource starved as India during 1940s and 50s, but they made good use of their resources, at least in the field of radio broadcasting. They got some good radio transmitters for free from the British troops stationed in Sri Lanka who left their equipments behind when the WW II was over. Radio Ceylon used these equipments to set up Radio Ceylon's overseas service, viz English service and Hindi service.

Soon, they saw the potential of playing Bollywood filmy songs in their Hindi service. They signed up announcers from India who came to Colombo and would broadcast from the radio Ceylon studio there. The earliest announcers that joined them included one person called Balraj Dutt, who would later on go on to become a big Bollywood star under the name Sunil Dutt.

Ameen Sayani became the most famous name associated with Radio Ceylon. But in reality, he was not an employee of Radio Ceylon. He was a freelancer who worked for sponsors like Binaca.Ameen Sayani was based in Bombay and there he recorded sponsored programmes viz Binaca geetmala etc and their tapes were then flown to Colombo for broadcast. The inhouse announcers on the other hand were based at Colombo, and they were employees of Radio Ceylon.

Initially, the in house programmes of Radio Ceylon were nowhere near as impressive as their sponsored programmes.There were quite a few good quality sponsored programmes, but Binaca geetmala ended up as the most famous and the longest running sponsored programme of them all.

It was Vijay Kishore Dubey, recruited in 1954, who was entrusted with the job of improving the format of radio Ceylon's in house programmes. And what we grew up listening to in 1960s was a result of Mr Dubey's efforts. Dubey's efforts in revamping radio Ceylon were akin to Pt narendra Sharma's efforts in creating Vividh Bharati from scratch a couple of years later. While Pt Sharma, a respected man in Bollywood circles had the backing of Indian I & B ministry and the support of Indian film industry, Vijay Kumar Dubey did not have these luxuries. While Pt Narendra Sharma entrusted the job of creating signature tunes of various Vividh Bharati programmes to well known music directors like Anil Biswas, Dubey used readymade filmy tunes as the signature tunes for radio Ceylon's programmes. For instance, "Dastaan" movie's tune served as the signature tune for aaphi ke geet programme.

Another lasting contribution that Vijay Kishore Dubey made in programming was to make it compulsory to have a Sehgal song as the last song in the "purani filmo ke geet" programme just before 8 AM.

Vijay Kishore Dubey left Radio Ceylon in 1956 and he groomed Shiv Kumar Saroj to take his place. Other announcers who joined Radio Ceylon Hindi service included names like Manohar Mahajan, Dalbir Singh Parmar, VijayLaxmi etc. I do not remember who was the announcer ( may be Parmar) who tried to coin new Hindi words for standard English words. For instance, he would say "laghu tarang" for short wave, but gave up using this term when his enthusiasm did not rub off on the audience.

Like Akashwani, Radio Ceylon too functioned in three shifts. The morning shift started at 7 AM in the earlier days, but later it was made 6 AM. The first programme would be instrumental music of Bollywood songs,followed by filmy bhajans. then songs from one movie would be played in the "Ek hi film ke geet" programme from 7:15 to 7:30. 7:30 to 8 AM was for "purani filmon ke geet".The slot from 8 AM to 9 AM was for the farmaishi programme called "aap hi ke geet". This programme made places like Jhumri talaiya, Ganj Basoda,Akola, Nanded etc famous. In fact an entire article can be written on these places, and I intend to write one in the coming days. So keep watching this space.

9 AM to 9 :30 AM was the time when programmes like songs from one artist,or quawwali, or ghazals etc were played on different days of the week. 9:30 to 10 AM was the least popular one when classical music was played. It was also the time when school kids would be leaving for their schools.It may be difficult to imagine it today, but those days schools would start at 10 AM, not 8 AM as is the case these days.

When Vividh Bharati started in 1957, they not only had song based programmes, they also had news, which they relayed from the Delhi station of Akashwani.Radio Ceylon too decided to have atleast one news, but they did not have the resources to have dedicated staff for this Hindi news. So they hit upon a novel idea.The first sabha ( that is how BBC hindi service described it) of BBC Hindi service began at 6 AM and ended with a 8 minutes long news beginning at 6:20 AM. Radio Ceylon Hindi service started relaying this Hindi news. I am not aware if Radio Ceylon had taken any permission from BBC to do so, but I will not be surprised if it was done without informing BBC.Those were the days when terms like intellectual property, broadcasting rights etc were not yet coined.

This was a very good idea for Radio Ceylon because BBC was regarded very highly for its unbiased reporting and professionalism, unlike Akashwani news which was mainly government propaganda. Also, this 6:20 Hindi news was the earliest Hindi news in any radio stations that one could tune into.It was through one such BBC news relayed by Radio Ceylon that I came to know that India had beaten West Indies at Port of Spain in 1976 chasing over 400 runs in the last innings for a world record beating victory.

The afternoon programme of Radio Ceylon, which started at 12 O' Clock was not really any great shakes. This could be because most of their potential audience at that time were busy in their jobs. I do not remember whether this afternoon slot had anything for house wives. I vaguely remember that there was a programme in the afternoon where only female listeners were supposed to send their farmaishes. But I could be wrong.This programme ended at 3 or 3:30 PM, I am not sure.

The evening programme was prime time programme.It began tamely enough from 6 PM till 8 PM. It was from 8 PM onwards that sponsored programmes if any, were broadcast. There may have been sponsored programmes of 30 minutes durations on some of the week days. Wednesday was of course booked for the one hour sponsored programme Binaca geetmala. It was on this day that small time advertisers began to have 15 minutes sponsored programmes from 7:45 to 8 PM, hoping to cash in on the fact that most radio listeners had tuned in to Binaca geetmala at that time. This programme too needs a separate article, and I will come up with one article dedicated on Binaca geetmala.

Sunday was the day when there was no break between morning programme and afternoon programme and the programme that began at 6 AM would extend well into the afternoon. This day,sponsored programmes would be presented right from 8 AM onwards. The "aap hi ke geet " programme on sunday was presented at 1 PM, by which time there may not have been too much enthusiasm left among listeners.

Sunday sponsored programmes included programmes like "Polydor Sangeet Dhara" at 9 AM, presented by an announcer with a clipped voice and with a signature tune that went "tip tip tip tip, like a horse running on a canter."Tabassum ke chutkule" was at 10 AM ( or was it 10:30) where Tabassum would read out her stale jokes to Ameen Sayani. Once,Ameen Sayani actually complained that her jokes were stale. The quality of jokes definitely improved from the next episode, but she reverted back to type after a few weeks.

If I recall correctly then a slot was purchased by a Christian missionary oganisation too who would present their own sponsored programme at 9:30 and I remember hearing their prayer in Hindi "Vandana karte hain hun".

"S Kumar ka filmy muqadma" was also broadcast on sunday.

Advertisers not only presented their sponsored programmes, but there were small few seconds long ads too, viz the ad of Brylcreem who had signed cricketer Farokh Engineer to endorse them.The sportsweek publishers would give ads for their Urdu newspaper called "Inquilaab". Nowadays of course, both Sportsweek as well as Inquilaab have gone defunct. Ads of new films were played during the "aphi ke geet" and other such popular programmes. For a song lasting 3 minutes,the announcer would read out the list of farmaish senders that consumed more time than the duration of the song.And after every song, there would be ads.

Of course such ads were not played during the duration of a sponsored programme. For example, if S Kumar ka filmi muqadma was being presented, then only S Kumar's ads were played. Ads of movies etc were not given at that time.Producers of new movies also bought 15 minutes slots on sunday to advertise for their movies, and these programmes typically had Ameen Sayani exhorting the listeners to watch these movies by playing songs from these movies.

It is not incorrect to say that Radio Ceylon Hindi service was a musical opium for the masses in India. They were totally sold out on Radio Ceylon, and this state of affairs continued till 1970s when Indian I & B ministry finally decided to allow ads on Vividh Bharati. TV revolution in India in mid 1980s finally sounded the death knell of radio every where, and that included Radio Ceylon ( which was renamed as Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in 1972) too.But it was good, rather great as long as it lasted.

Vividh Bharati-an outstanding Radio channel

2008-07-09T08:12:00.025+05:30

Ironically, just when Radio Ceylon was starting to broadcast Binaca geetmala in 1953,Govt of India took a diametrically and drastically opposite decision for the Govt owned radio.B V Keskar, the first I&B minister of independant India banned Filmy music from Akashwani in 1953. Binaca geetmala, as well as this Akashwani ban gave radio Ceylon a big shot in the arm.

Akashwani insisted on "educating" people through dull programmes, and radio Ceylon had no qualms playing latest filmy songs and also broadcasting ads. So the choice before the lay public was easy. The Indian audience took to radio Ceylon in a big way, and Indian businessmen followed by advertising their products in Radio Ceylon. In any case, Indian I & B ministry had yet to wake up to the potential of earning revenues through ads, they still insisted on earning their revenue through annual license fee on the radio sets. The annual license fee was Rs 10 in the beginning,( which was a huge sum in those days), and later it became Rs 15.

This ban on filmy music lasted for about one and a half years and the repurcussions were for all to see. The I & B ministry was forced to relax the ban on filmy music in 1955, and filmy music limped its way back into akashwani. But these half hearted measures were not sufficient for Akashwani to regain the lost ground.

Akashwani started an entertainment channel called Vividh Bharati, when Akashwani Bombay( alongwith Madras) became the first Vividh Bharati station on October 3, 1957.Govt of India had asked Pt Narendra Sharma to conceive this radio channel. He was designated as Chief producer, and it was he who drew up plans for the channel and even thought up the name "Vividh Bharati".

Announcers described it as-"'This is Vividh Bharati, panchrangi programme of akashwani". This was a tacit admission that the main channel of Akashwani was too dull and boring for lay public, and that was indeed the case.

Vividh Bharati was mainly a music based channel, but being a government organisation, it was nowhere as nimble footed as Radio Ceylon, its direct competitor. Radio Ceylon would play latest songs,whereas Vividh Bharati ( and more so the main akashwani stations) were always late in buying the latest records, thanks to the cumbersome procurement process that all government organisations had to follow.

By the time Vividh Bharati would get the hit records of 1958, it was already 1960. So there was no way Vividh Bharati could compete with radio Ceylon's Aap hi ke geet or Binaca geetmala, which always played the latest and most popular songs.There was another radio station that played latest Bollywood filmy songs. It was radio Goa. Yes, Goa did not become an Indian territory till 1962. But Goa radio did not have the same reach as Radio Ceylon so that quickly faded away. And of course, India took over Goa in 1962.

But being a government organisation hell bent on educating people, Vividh Bharati did take some unpopular but correct decisions that turned out to be masterstrokes in the long run.

For instance, despite knowing fully well that classical music programmes had few takers, they still began a programme that a populist broadcaster like Radio Ceylon never would. It was called Sangeet sarita, where a particular raag was discussed. A filmy song based on this raag was played followed by a pure classical song by a classical guru.It was broadcast in the morning.

Just before this programme, or somewhere in between, Vividh Bharati had a five minutes programme called Jharokha, where we would be informed about the programmes to be broadcast in the day.

Sangeet sarita ended at 8 A M and was followed by News. After news, it was the turn of Bhoole bisre geet at the time when Radio ceylon would be playing the latest songs in their aap hi ke geet programme.Incidentally, the bhoole bisre geet programe would actually play rare forgotten songs. In contrast, it was not uncommon for Radio Ceylon to play just 10 years old songs in their "purani filmon ke geet" programme.

Vividh Bharati would have newer ( though never the latest) songs played in their next programmes starting from 8:30 and going upto 9:30.

Afternoon session had that one hour long farmaishi programme called "manchahe geet".

Evening programmes included a classical songs based programme at 6:30, and it ended at 7, followed by a five minute Khel samachar.This khel samachar was started in 1975, and its English version, sports news was broadcast at 8 PM( though not on Vividh Bharati).

The time after the khel samachar was eagerly looked after by many.This was the time when the most brilliant master stroke of Vividh Bharati called Jaimala was broadcast.

The daily programme was a farmaishi programme open only to fauzi jawans who sent their farmaish by special mail available only to fauzis. You could not send an ordinary postcard claiming to be lance Naik Amar Singh or Subedar Ramesh Kumar and hope to have your farmaish entertained. The farmaishi posts had to come through APO ( army post office).Of course,everyone could listen to the programme, not just fauzi bhais.

And saturday's jaimala was actually special ( vishesh) and it was actually called Vishesh jaimala. This was a programme where a celebrity ( mostly from the film world, but sometimes cricketers too) would talk to fauzi bhais and play songs of their own choice. The same programme was also repeated on Sunday afternoon. However critical one could be of a government organisation,this special jaimala was pure gold. And now with passage of time, it has become more so.

7:50 PM( when Jaimala ended) to 8:10 PM was the time that various Vividh Bharati kendras filled with their own programmes. Then at 8:10 PM, there would be an half hour programme that depended on the day of week. I remember looking forward to the day of qawwali. I think one day was booked for ghazals too, though I am not so sure because I was not into ghazals in any case in those days. Indeed, 8 PM on wednesday were a walkover to Radio ceylon, when they would be broadcasting their Binaca geetmala while Vividh Bharati will be playing some old songs ( ghazals, if I remember correctly) at the same time.

8:45 PM was the time for the 15 minutes long Hindi news. After the news, "late night" programmes began. Hawamahal, with its signature tune had the effect of causing my eyelids to get heavy and I would immediately feel sleepy.This programme was at 9:30, which was regarded as too late in those days.

Incidentally, the theme tunes of all these programmes were created by eminent music directors viz Anil Biswas etc, when Vividh Bharati was set up in 1957. In fact, the first episode of Hawa Mahal was written by Pt Narendra Sharma, the boss of Vividh Bharati in those days. Old timers will remember him as the person who was a leading poet and lyricist in 1940s and he was the one who encouraged Lata Mangeskar during her struggling days. The government of India had made a sensible decision in inviting a highly respected film personality to shape the destiny of Vividh Bharati. This, plus the fact that many filmy dignitaries had started their career in Akashwani, and also the fact that most Vividh Bharati programmes were recorded at Bombay, meant that Vividh Bharati could count upon unstinted support from the film industry.

The programme that came next at 10 PM was Chayageet, that was a theme based programme, where songs were played on a particular theme. And the announcers did lot of hardwork in preparing and presenting the programme.

In fact, that could be said about all Vividh Bharati programmes. The presenters had passion for their jobs and that reflected in the quality of their presentation,which was of a high standard, and always very informative. In Radio Ceylon, it was not uncommon for the announcer to just name the singer before playing a song, but in Vividh Bharati, the announcers would take great pains to name the singer, lyricist and music director. and in programmes like Chayageet, Sangeet Sarita etc, they went into much more detail.

I recall the name of another programme called Rang tarang. It was a programme where poetry were read. I found it boring. I never seriously listened to it.

Vividh Bharati was stated in Mumbai and Madras and gradually it was started in other major radio stations in the country too. In Ranchi, it was started sometime in 1960s, and it was only in the evening from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM, unlike what it was in Mumbai etc, which not only broadcasted in three shifts, but had begun to accept advertisements as well, in line with the changed government policy which allowed advertisements in Vividh Bharati.It was caled "Vividh Bharati ki vigyapan seva" viz Commercial service of Vividh Bharati. It was only in 1975 that Vividh Bharati Ranchi too joined the ranks of "Vividh Bharati ki vigyapan seva", from merely being Vividh Bharati- Akashwani ka panchrangi karyakram, and the station started to broadcast in three shifts too.

On weekdays, there was just one or two sponsored programs, one of them at 8:10, and another at 9:00, I think. It varied from station to station. Sunday was the day when there were many sponsored programmes, right from the morning beginning from about 9 A M to 1 PM. Programmes had fancy names like "Modi ke Matwale Rahi" and "Saridon ke saathi".

One programme, that was broadcast on saturday night and repeated on sunday was "Patravali", where letters of listeners were discussed.The fact that most programmes were recorded in Bombay and a few sponsored programmes differed from station to station and were recorded by sponsors was a fact not known to many,so many listeners would write letters that pertained to a specific vividh Bharati station and to sponsored programmes,and would not pertain to programmes recorded at Bombay.

Some superb programmes were started after 1980s when people had switched over to TV, and these programmes have not received as much accolades as they deserve. In these programmes, a particular film personality was discussed. Many unknown facts about them were brought out, making use of interviews with the person recorded from time to time, as well as discussions with people associated with the person.

For instance,programmes like:

Ujale unki yaad ke, Aaj ke fankaar,Sargam ke sitare ,and (last but not the least),Sangeet ke sitaron ki mehfil- This last programme was presented by Ameen Sayani, It was definitely a much higher standard programme than his much acclaimed Binaca geetmala. It had rare recordings( from Ameen Sayani's past programmes on Radio Ceylon), and interesting anecdotes. It is a hidden gem of Vividh Bharati which has not received as much acclaim as Vishesh Jaimala, mainly because this programme has come up in the TV era.

But it shows one fact clearly, that the programmes of Vividh Bharati are of high standard and very well researched. TV programmes of comparable kind ( viz Chitrahar etc) stand no where. In fact the private FM channels too can only dream of such standards.

Akashwani ( including Vividh bharati) have an enviable archive of recordings not found elsewhere. Now a days they have offered CDs of some of these recordings for sale also, but they are making the same mistake as was made by the first I & B minister of the nation. They are only selling recordings of classical music. Great that these recordings are, you can never expect these CDs to sell much. On the other hand, if they decide to sell the recordings of vishesh jaimala, chayageet, sangeet ke sitaron ki mehfil, etc, then I can guarantee that Akashwani will earn nearly as much from these sales than what they earn from their ads. Is anyone listening ( or rather reading this) ? Please act fast before these invaluable recordings are consumed by dust and moth.

All India Radio (Akashwani) stations in India

2008-07-08T14:15:00.019+05:30

Having discussed radio, now it is time for me to discuss the radio stations in India. It is a vast subject, so my discussion of foreign radio stations ( viz radio Ceylon of Binaca geetmala fame) will have to wait for some more time till I am through with the topic at hand.

Before independance, there were very few radio stations in India. After independance in 1947, India became a republic in 1950 and the decade of 1950 was one when the nation building process, which involved building of infrastructure, was taken up in a big way.

Radio was under the ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I & B) and the organisation that looked after broadcasting was called All India Radio (AIR),a name coined by the English rulers. The Indian officials sought an Indian term for it and they came up with the word "Akashwani", which was taken from Indian mythology. Literally "voice from the sky", the term Akashwani finds much use in ancient sanskrit literature. Gods would often make announcements for mankind in a loud voice through the sky, and that is why it was called Akashwani. Quite an imaginative term, it was. And it caught on well. In English broadcasting, the term All India Radio was used. In native language broadcasting, the term Akashwani was used. For overseas service, even in Hindi/Urdu, it was called All India Radio.

Resource strapped as the nation was, every state was allotted only a few radio stations, one in the capital city, and others in other major cities.With time,gradually, more cities would be added on the AIR map. For instance, Bihar ( it included present day Jharkhand at that time too) had only three radio stations- Patna, Ranchi, and Bhagalpur. In 1970s, a fourth station was opened at Darbhanga.

The present day concept of earning revenue through sponsorship was unknown. The way Akashwani financed itself was through government funding as well as through annual license fee of Rs 15 on every radio set purchased in the country. Draconian it may seem now, but that is how it was in those days.

Radio was seen as a means to spread education and public awareness. It was not supposed to be a means of entertainment. In fact, the then I & B minister actually said so and banned Bollywood movie music from being played on Akashwani. And that is how it remained for quite some time on the main Akashwani stations.

What was left unsaid was that Akashwani was a very good means of official propaganda. And government really used it to the hilt for that purpose. The news would only be about the achievements of the government. Opposition activities were not given any coverage. I & B minister became a very important minister, a right hand person of the Prime minister.

The Akashwani stations typically broadcasted in morning, afternoon and night. The morning transmission would begin at 6 AM with a standard signature tune( sounded like an anthem). If you opened your radio station five minutes prior to 6 AM, there would be only noise, but at 5: 58 or so, the static noise will change tone, which meant that the radio station janitor had switched the power on. And then the abovementioned standard signature tune would be played.

The first thing you would hear was "vande Mataram" followed by the introduction by the announcer something like- This is Akashwani Ranchi on medium wave 535 m band at 561 KHz and shortwave 90 m band at 3335 kHz. The various radio stations were quite resource strapped in the matter of wavelengths in which to broadcast. After some time,viz 7:30 AM, the announcer would inform that now the short wave 90 m band was closing, and listeners on this band could continue listening on medium wave 535 m band.

If you had a multiband radio, different bands had different valves inside. If the valve of a particular band became defective, other bands would continue to work, only that band would not. As it was, in my radio, the medium wave valve had conked off so after 7:30, I would be unable to listen to the radio station and would miss the commentary of the hockey match which was so keenly poised at that moment.

Commentaries were special occasions, but a normal day had a staple diet of programmes, like how a typical housewife or a hostel canteen has a standard menu for different days of the week. In the morning, they had bhajans etc, and then there used to be a news, typically at every hour.The 7 AM news was a brief 2 minutes news.The most important news in the morning was at 8 AM.From 8 to 8:10, it was Hindi news, followed by English news from 8:10 to 8:20. As 8 AM would approach, whatever programme was on will meet with a natural or unnatural end, and the announcer would announce-" It is 8 AM. Now we will relay the news from Delhi, first in Hindi and then in English".At the stroke of 8, we would hear the sound coming from Delhi- pip, pip, pip-- 8 times, and then the news would begin. This protocol was followed for every news.

As far as I can recall, most programmes on morning were "dull". The morning transmission would end at 10 AM.

The afternoon transmission would start at 1 PM, with the same ritual ( the noise changing tone, followed by the signature tune of Akashwani). After a brief 5 minute news in two languages,the afternoon programmes began with a programme on Bollywood film songs. The I & B minister's ban on Bollywood songs had been lifted about one decade back).The songs were not current, but a couple of years old at least, but something was always better than nothing.Then there was typically a programme for housewives where tips were given on cookery,knitting and other such stuff.It was followed by the news at 2 PM, which was just as important as the 8 AM news in the morning. This time though,the English news preceded the Hindi news. I do not recall when the afternoon programme ended. It ended ataround 4 PM or so, and it varied from station to station.

Evening programmes started at 6 PM and went upto 11 PM. This was the prime time, and it had many programmes. The first programme was what many city slickers disliked. It was for farmers, where agriculture experts would give tips on agriculture. This was followed by a programme which was sort of like a "chaupal" where people gather under a tree and discuss various matters. I do not recall what this programme was called, but it had a lady, nicknamed Sugiya bahan talking in rural dialect and a gentleman talking in Hindi, discussing various matters, including replying to letters, and playing folk songs.

I found it a down market programme, and disliked it ( I only liked Kishore Kumar singing latest R D Burman songs those days), but now that I think of it, it was a very well conceived and executed programme, and it certainly connected well with its target audience. I am sure other Akashwani kendras also had similar programmes for their local audience, but i doubt if any of these programmes came near the above programme of akashwani Ranchi.Sugiya bahan, a city dweller in real life became a legend in Ranchi and the areas surrounding it. She was sort of like the Ameen Sayani of akashwani Ranchi to her target audience.

The night time at 8:45 was the time when the major news bulletins ( lasting 15 minutes each) were broadcast in Hindi followed by English, and in case of certain stations, followed by Urdu news of 10 minutes duration. so people not interested in news had to wait patiently for 40 minutes for news to end.

Most programmes were stand alone programmes broadcast by one station for its local population. But there were programmes that were broadcast by several stations.The most obvious of them all were the national programmes that were broadcast by one station ( typically Delhi) and relayed by all other stations, viz national news, sports commentaries, address to the nation by President/ Prime Minister etc. The announcement for a national programme typically did not mention the source station, it just said- "This is Akashwani".

Then there were pradeshik (regional) programmes, viz pradeshik news, that was broadcast by one station and relayed by all other stations in the state.For example, in case of Bihar,if the originating station was Patna,which was the case for 7:30 PM pradeshik news, the news reader would say- "This is Akashwani Patna, Ranchi, Bhagalpur.Ab aap Anant Kumar se praadeshik samachar suniye( now listen to the regional news by Anant Kumar)".This Anant Kumar had a booming voice. Later, Akashwani Ranchi too came up with its own Pradeshik samachar and the news reader would say- "This is Akashwani Ranchi ,Patna, Bhagalpur." The protocol of seniority was strictly mantained. Name of the host station came first, followed by other stations in the state in the order of seniority, which in case of Bihar was Patna > Ranchi > Bhagalpur. there were only about 80 odd radio stations in India by the turn of 1970, which became 100 sometime in the middle of that decade.

In 1950s, when the then I & B minister had banned filmy music from Akashwani, the demand for such song based programmes were met by Radio Ceylon, and that station should have thanked the honourable I & B minister for acting as their inadvertant promoter.By the time Akashwani realised its folly it was too late and Radio Ceylon was firmly in the driver's seat as far as popularity of its song based programmes ( Aaphi ke geet,Binaca geetmala etc) were concerned. To atone for their mistake,Akashwani started a dedicated music based channel called Vividh Bharati.This deserves a separate post, and I will come up with a detailed post on Vividh Bharati later.

As a child, I had the opportunity to pass through Akashwani Ranchi centre quite a few times,and I would wonder what it was like within that premise, which was of course out of bounds for public. And I was very much part of the common public.

Now, I have been to the Akashwani premises of a few Akashwani kendras ( Chhindwara, Jabalpur,Mumbai etc) and I know people there who would happily show me around the place if I wanted, but I no longer feel the same curiosity that I felt as a child.These days Radio is no longer regarded as highly as was the case 30-40 years ago.My daughter has participated in Children's programme in akashwani Jabalpur( Children's programme is broadcast every sunday on all Akashwani kendras) and she has been to Akashwani Mumbai quite a few times, but she does not attach any importance to that.I guess one does not appreciate things that one gets easily.

Things have changed, and now a days we have private radio stations (called FM channels) and they are growing in popularity. But I doubt that they will ever recapture the glory days of Radio, which ended in India in 1980s with the advent of TV.But now that I have had enough exposure to TV in India, and I have seen the declining standards of majority of their programmes,I am yearning to go back to the days of Radio.

Radio in India in 1960s

2008-07-07T18:35:00.006+05:30

I have been holding forth a lot on Binaca geetmala. But I have not yet talked about the medium on which this programme was broadcast i.e. radio. Also, I have not talked about Ameen Sayani, the presenter of Binaca geetmala. I will talk about Ameen Sayani in future. At present, I will talk about radio in India in 1960s and 70s.

It is difficult to imagine today, but there were hardly any sources of information ( and indeed entertainment) for the masses till 1900. It was in the early decades of that century that radio was invented and radio stations were opened. In India, radio stations were first opened in 1920s and its spread over the country was quite slow in the beginning. There were very few radio stations in India at that time.

Radio sets themselves used to be bulky as they used to contain vacuum tube valves ( not solid state components like transistors and ICs, which were invented only in 1950s and later). In addition to being bulky, they were expensive too. A radio set occupied pride of place in the household that was fortunate enough to have them. Money was not the only constraint. Electricity was another constraint. battery operated radio sets ( transistor radio) were non existent because transistor itself was yet to be invented.

Now a days, with the benefit of hindsight, we take many things for granted. For instance, we are told that India became independent on 15th August 1947 and people all over the country celebrated it. The reality was, many parts of the country were blissfully unaware of this occurence. My father, who was a school student and lived in a village, used to maintain a diary in 1947. ( had I been more aware of the value of antiques, I would have preserved that diary, but it was not yet antique value in 1970s when I stumbled upon it). This diary had an entry somewhere in september 1947 that India had got independence sometime in August. when questioned, my father told me that no one was aware of the fact because they had no means of communication within 15 miles of his village. And same was the case for everyone else in that area. The nearest radio set was 15 miles away and it was through that radio set that a vague information about Indian independance slowly trickled down among people there.

Also, one could not have a radio just like that. One needed to have a license to own it and pay license fee of Rs 15 per year ( Rs 15 was more than one day's pay for a salaried person), just like one needed license to own a gun. The license book was the size of ration card ( another coveted document) and needed to be kept in safe custody.In fact, one needed to have a license for owning a cycle as well, and the metal token given as license needed to be fixed on the cycle.Cycles were checked by traffic police for license plate and night lamp, the way they check scooters and motor cycles now a days.Yes, cycles were required to have night lamps compulsorily, Horn/bell called ghanti, were also compulsory items on a bicycle those days.

Having completed all formalities and having arranged for all requirements like electricity etc, the radio had to be installed. It was a specialised job and the radio seller would depute his trained personnel for the job, who would install the aerial.Yes, it was called aerial, not antenna. Now, this aerial was not like a thin rod that we see today. It was more like a fishing net rather than a fishing rod, and needed to be spread in an expert way as if catching the radio wave was like catching fishes. There were people who would not bother installing the aerial as it was too cumbersome to first install and later maintain. One could get reception without aerial too, but not of the same quality as with the aerial.

Having gone through all the hassles successfully, now it was the time to actually use the radio. The process went something like this- switch on the main switch on the switch board, then rotate the designated knob clockwise, which would cause the radio to get switched on. Now wait for the radio to get started ( the way we wait for computers to get booted today). after a minute or two, the valves would start functioning and the radio was ready to be used.

Front of the radio set would be glowing like the screen of present day laptops and there were many numbers and words etched on the front panel of the radio.If car engines are described in terms of their cylinders, then the radios were described in terms of bands. Typically, a radio set would have three or four bands ( smaller and cheaper sets would have lesser number of bands, expensive bulky sets would even have seven or more bands). One of the bands would be called medium wave band, rest would be short wave bands. In rest of the world, like say England, they even had long wave band, but that was not the case in India.

After switching on the radio, one needed to select the band. If the radio had say four bands, one of them would be medium wave band, then the rest were short wave bands, typically marked SW1,SW2 and SW3. SW1 would have areas marked like 9M, 13M ,16M, 19 M ( which would indicate wavelenth in meters).Personally, I never found much use of this band in India, because none of the radio stations of interest broadcasted in these wavelengths.

SW2 was the band that was of most interest. It had 25 M, 31 M and 41 M marked in it. 25 M was special because that is where radio Ceylon ( later Sri Lanka broadcasting corporation) used to broadcast its Hindi service programme. SW3 had 49M upto 90 M marked on it. MW band had marks from 135M to say 900 M.

Adjacent to the meter marking, there used to be marking for frequency in MHz or KHz.And these readings were inversely proportional to the wave length values.
Higher the meter value, lower the frequency, and vice versa.Radio stations would announce the meter and frequency periodically like " This is the Hindi overseas service of Sri Lanka broadcasting corporation broadcasting on 25 m at 11928 khz and on 41 m at 7220 khz." The AIR ( All India Radio)stations would be more steadfast and announce their wavelengths upto two decimal figures. I soon worked out the formula which was (wave length in m) X (frequency in khz) = 300000, where

300000 was the speed of light in km/ sec.

Some high end radios even had names of certain important radio stations written on the radio on the relevant places for guidance. Different radio stations on the same meter band would broadcast on slightly different wavelengths / frequency, but the tuner in the radio was a manual knob which tended to shift imperceptibly, and as a result the tuned station would often get detuned, and in prime time, viz night time, too many stations jostled for space for the same wave lengths like commuters in a Bombay local train, and if you lost your station, then getting that station back was purely a matter of chance.

Many a times I have missed out listening to the interesting portions of Binaca geetmala because of this reason.And if the weather was cloudy, then the broadcast would be more disturbed than Indian batsmen on a green wicket.Every lightening thunder in the sky would cause disturbance in the broadcast. Even under normal weather conditions, there was considerable noise, which human minds could filter,but not recording machines, if one decided to record radio broadcasts. Of course,recording machines were exorbitantly expensive at that time. All this disturbance in sound was because the broadcast was on AM ( amplitude modulation). On the other hand, TV broadcast have always had their audio as FM ( frequency modulation). That is why TV audio is always crystal clear.

Another thing about those radios. The radio looked like a miniature multistoried building,well lit up. And the vacuum valves glowing inside ( another way to classify a radio was on the basis of how many valves it boasted of)kept the interior of the radio cozily warm, and mice actually found the radio sets as their ideal home, full of lighting and warmth. So,the radio not only looked like a building, it also acted like a housing complex for mice. When these bulky radios gave way to small transistor radios, the biggest losers were not mankind but these mice. Just as the era from 1950s to 1960s was the golden era of Bollywood music, it was the golden era of housing for mice. And these mice kept radio mechanics gainfully employed.

Being a radio mechanic was considered a sign of brilliance and this job was considered second only to the job of a locomotive driver,if I am allowed to
exaggerate a little. And there were books like "build your own radio". People who could actually build their own radio were regarded as geniuses.

With all this discussion on the hardware of the radio ( the term hardware incidentally stood for a shop dealing in hammer and tongs and paints and nails),I will discuss the software ( another term not yet invented at that time ) next, viz the various radio stations and their programmes.

Bollywood songs for kids

2008-07-07T08:10:00.007+05:30

Every one, including kids hum Bollywood songs, even though most of the songs are not exactly meant for kids. But there have been some wonderful songs for kids over the years, which have become perennial favourites of kids ( and their parents). Here is a list of some of these songs:

Song 1: Dhire se aaja ri ankhiyan me (Albela 1951)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Anv4a6ACp8&feature=related

Song 2: Aja re aa nindiya tu aa (Do bigha zameen 1953)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlxl3Mw0Gy8

Song 3: aao bacchon tumhe dikhaye jhanki hindustan ki (Jaagriti 1954)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E09twioyfs

Song 4: Chanda mama door ke (Vachan 1955)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJtk-NWaiA8

Song 5: Chunchun karti aayi chidiya (Ab dilli door nahin)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX2XBC3Irwo

Song 6: Nanne munne bacche teri mutthi me kya hai(Boot Polish)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrIJxCcXnA

Song 7: Chuk chuk chuk chuk rail chali (Sone ki chidiya 1958)Singers-Asha,Lyrics-Saahir Ludhianvi,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFJ1E-yKnmA

Song 8: Nanhi kali sone chali (Sujata 1959)Singer-Geeta Dutt,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

Song 9: Nani teri nani ko mor le gaye baki jo bacha (Masoom 1961)

Song 10: Nana munna rahi hoon (Son of India 1962)Singer-Shanti Mathur, Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,Music-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljLg7Lw7hqs&feature=related

Song 11: Dadi amma dadi amma maan jao (Gharana 1961) Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Ravi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELoOUrKSGWA

Song 12: Hum bhi agar bacche hote (Door ki awaaz 1964),Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Ravi)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALBKxy0H4is

Song 13: Gudiya kab tak na hansogi(Dosti 1964)Singer-Lata,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WumXKVnVbM

Song 14: Hum ko man ki shakti dena (Guddi)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RLOuiX6_6A

Song 15: Chanda hai tu(Aradhana)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMcg7TMj1RM

Song 16: Chal chal chal mere haathi(Haathi mere saathi)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CS4nLI2ZX8&feature=related

Song 17: Rona kabhi nahin rona (Apna Desh 1972)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMhoQNSzP74

Song 18: Sunlo sunata hoon tumko kahani (Andaz 1971)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvjWM2ejlSE

Song 19: Mummy ko papa se papa ko mummy se pyar hai (Andaz 1971)Singers-Sushma Shreshtha,Asha,Rafi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB12me3xFkg

Song 20: Mera raja beta (Anuraag)Singer-Lata,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puNCwr_g_e0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puNCwr_g_e0&feature=related

Song 21: sare ke sare gama ko lekar (Parichay) Singers-Kishore, Asha, Lyrics-Gulzar,MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_kTeoaSkek&feature=related

Song 22: Lalla lalla lori(Mukti 1977)Singer-Mukesh,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3iOMHOg7DI

Song 23: Masterji ki aa gayi chitthi (Kitaab 1977) Singers-Shivangi & Padmini Kolhapure,Lyrics-Gulzar,MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdXvKhs4OrM

Song 24: Mere paas aao mere doston ek kissa suno (Mr Natwarlal)Singer-Amitabh Bachchan,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Rajesh Roshan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnvh6t4KEwE

Song 25: Lakdi ki kathi (Masoom 1984)Singers-Gauri Bapat, Gurpreet Kaur, Vanita Mishra,Lyricist-Gulzar,MD-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDvEAqynDVQ

Rain songs in Bollywood

2008-07-04T13:47:00.038+05:30

How do you act when it rains ? Most people will remember running for cover, and cursing themselves for not being adequately prepared with an umbrella or a raincoat. Kids are admonished by their moms not to get wet else they would catch cold.Kids on the other hands would love to go out in the rain, if possible. Many school kids like my kid loves to go to school on rainy days because it allows her to wear that new raincoat of hers.

Fortunately filmy moms and pops ( Nirupa Roy and Satyen Kappu ?) do not prevent their (grown up) kids- read heroes and heroines, from getting wet in the rain. And the Hero and Heroine make full use of this lack of parental control. They get wet in the rain to their hearts content,their cloths getting drenched and moreover they sing songs too,while frolicking in rain.

Note-The videos open in new windows.
Song 1:
In fact, there have been movies named after rain. For instance, there have been quite a few movies named as "Barsaat". Raj kapoor acted in the first movie by this name in 1949, and this rain song from this movie continues to be a much loved song to this day:

Barsaat mein humse mile tum sajan barsaat me( Barsaat-1949)Singers-Mukesh,Lata, Lyrics-Shailendra, MD-Shankar Jaikishan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG98gGvfheQ

Song 2:
A milestone in Bollywood rain songs. Photo of Raj Kapoor and Nargis with an umbrella is one of the most memorable stills in the history of Bollywood movie industry. This song served as a template for future rain songs in Indian movies in general and in Raj kapoor movies in particular.

Pyar hua ikraar hua (Shree 420 1955) Singers-Manna Dey,Lata, Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri, MD- Shankar Jaikishan

Song 3:
Rainy season could well be regarded as the season of love in Bollywood movies, but in this song, love is farthest from the minds of the hero and heroine.Hero is annoyed at his sleep being disturbed and the girl's car has conked off in the rainy night. But the situation and picturisation is tailormade for the audience to go weak in the knee.

Ek ladki bhigi bhagi si (Chalti ka naam gaadi 1958)

Song 4:In Bollywood movies, arrival of rain means blossoming of love in one's heart, so in Indian movies, Rainy days are valentine days. And this song spells out the details.

O Sajna barkha bahaar aayi (Parakh 1960)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD-Salil Choudhary

Song 5:
India is a country blessed with abundant rain. That is why the Indian vocabulary vis a vis rain is rich. For instance,when it rains in light drizzle, we Indians do not say that it is running kittens and pups. We have a richer vocabulary. We call is rimjhim barsaat. And this word rimjhim was used for the first time in this song:

Rimjhim ke taraane leke aayi barsaat (Kala Baazar 1960)Singers-Geeta Dutt,Rafi,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD-S D Burman

Song 6:
One of the earliest Rafi song on the theme of Rain. He would go on to have a string of many such memorable rain songs in the coming years.

Tu kahan ye bata is nasheeli raat mein (tere ghar ke saamne 1963)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics- Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-S D Burman

Song 7:
Raj Kapoor and Mukesh jumps in the fun yet again, inventing some new terms in the process in the song

Dum dum diga diga (Chhaliya)Singer-Mukesh,Lyrics-Qamar Jalalabadi,Music- Kalyanji Anandji

Song 8:Romancing in a suspense movie under rain must be some experience. Manoj Kumar and Nanda croon to the divine voice of Rafi, and the jarringly shrill voice of Sharda, respectively.

Jaane chaman shola badan (Gumnaam 1965)Singers-Rafi,Sharda,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-Shankar Jaikishan

Song 9:
Rain or shine,Dharam paaji enjoyed life big way. And here he is contemplating enjoying rain with Ashaji ( our beloved Ms Parekh)

Kuch kehta hai ye sawan ( Mera gaon mera desh 1971)Singers-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

Song 10:
Having drawn the plans in the previous song, the duo implement their plan in this song

Aaya saawan jhoom ke(Aaya saawan jhoom ke)Singers-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

Song 11:
Rajendra Kumar and Babita figure in this sensuous rain song which brings the term "rimjhim" back into rain songs.

Rimjhim ke ye geet saawan gaaye(Anjaana) Singers-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,Md-Laxmikant Pyarelal

Song 12:Just as Rafi and Lata were becoming constant voices in rain songs, Mumtaz was becoming a constant presence in rain songs. Here is one such song from that era which had bucketful of good rain songs

Chup gaye saare nazare (Do raaste 1969)Singers-Lata,Rafi,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

Song 13:
Another mast mast song picturised on the same actor duo.This time the male voice belongs to Kishore Kumar

Gore rang pe na itna gumaan kar (Roti 1970)Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

Song 14:
Wonderful depiction of how a typical Mumbaikar couple would like to enjoy rain. Alas, these days rain means not just drenching, it means water logging as well in Mumbai. Just three decades ago, one could get drenched without getting flooded in Mumbai, and this song shows how.

Rimjhim gire saawan (Manzil)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Yogesh,MD-R D Burman

Song 15:
With Mumtaz retiring from Bollywood, the mantle of getting drenched in the rain fell on Zeenat Aman, and here she proves to be an able replacement.

Bhigi bhigi raaton me (Ajnabi 1974)Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-R D Burman

Song 16:
And here Ms Aman is seen hampered from enjoying rain by the more basic necessities of life

Hai hai ye majboori (Roti Kapda aur makaan 1975)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Verma Malik,MD-Laxmikant Pyarelal

Song 17:
Meanwhile, the old man of Ms Ekta Kapoor was quite enjoying himself in rains in his bachelor days. See for yourself:

Abke saawan me jee dare (Jaise ko taisa)Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-R D Burman

Song 18:
Zeenat Aman getting drenched is alright,but the puritanical Ms Hema Malini was the sort who would drown herself in "chullu bhar paani" at the thought of doing Zeenat Aman kind of wet sari roles. But here she is seen getting drenched for a patriotic cause.

Zindagi ki na toote ladi(Kranti)Singers-Lata, Nitin Mukesh,Lyrics-Santosh Anand, Music- Laxmikant Pyarelal

Song 19:
It always helps the love life of a couple if they are financially independent and both work in the same office. Here two persons working in Hospitality industry enjoy rain in a downmarket way.

Aaj rapat jaaye to (Namakhalal 1982)Singers-Kishore,Asha,Lyrics-Anjaan,MD-Bappi Lahiri

Song 20:
Just when one thought that lyrics were becoming dispensable in songs, here comes a song with nice lyrics, almost a hark back to the era gone by.Words like "sawan", "jhadi" in a song in 1980s, wow!

Lagi aaj saawan ki phir se jhadi hai (Chandni)Singers-Anupama Deshpande,Suresh wadkar,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Shiv Hari

Song 21:The lyrics here are much more basic and functional, and do their job. It was quite an effective song, mainly because of its tune.

Tip tip barsa pani (Mohra)Singers-Alka Yagnik,Udit Narayan,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-Viju Shah

Song 22:
And suddenly, we find the clock being turned back, and for a change we have a song that belongs to the days of yore, to the golden era of Bollywood music.And the lyrics here actually use the forgotten word "rimjhim rimjhim"

Rimjhim rimjhim (1942 a love story)Singers-Kavita Krishnamurthy,Kumar sanu,Lyrics-Javed Akhtar,MD-R D Burman

Music director Hemant Kumar in Binaca geetmala finals

2008-07-02T14:05:00.032+05:30

Hemant Kumar made his debut as a music director in 1952, nearly the same time when Binaca geetmala was making its debut on Radio Ceylon. By the time Binaca geetmala became a countdown programme in 1954,Hemant Kumar had gate crashed into the league of big time music directors. He made his mark in the first year of Binaca geetmala itself with his music in "Naagin". "man dole mera tan dole" from this movie has the distinction of finishing in top three in two consecutive years, and it is the only song to have done so in the entire history of Binaca geetmala.

Hemant Kumar was not only a music director, he was a singer too, who would sing for other music directors too. And there too he made his mark. For instance his song "hai apna dil to aawara" under the music direction of S D Burman was the number 1 song in Binaca geetmala 1958 final.

However,here we confine us to only those Binaca geetmala songs in which Hemant Kumar was the music director.

His first songs in Binaca geetmala as music director were from movies like Shart, Naagin, Jaagriti etc, whereas his last song as a music director was "Dheere
dheere machal ae dile bekaraar "(Anupama) which finished number 5 in Binaca geetmala 1967 final.

Here is the list of songs composed under the music direction of Hemant Kumar that figured in Binaca geetmala finals( videos open in separate window on clicking the link) :

Binaca geetmala 1954 final

9.Na ye chaand hogaa na taare rahenge (Shart) Singer-Hemant Kumar,Geeta Dutt,Lyrics-S H Bihari,MD-Hemant Kumar

2.Man dole meraa tan dole (Nagin) Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan,MD-Hemant Kumar

Binaca geetmala 1955 final

10.Chalo chalen maan (Jagriti,1954)Singer-Asha,Lyrics-Pradeep,MD-Hemant Kumar

8.De dee hamein aazaadi (Jagriti,1954)Singer-Asha,Lyrics-Pradeep,MD-Hemant Kumar

7.Mera dil ye pukaare aajaa (Nagin,1954)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan,MD-Hemant Kumar

3.Man dole mera tan dole (Nagin,1954)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan,MD-Hemant Kumar

"Man dole mera tan dole" became the only song in the Binaca GeetMala history to be played in the list of Sartaaj geets in two separate years.

Binaca geetmala 1957 final

19.chhup gayaa koi re door se pukaar ke (Champakali) Singer-Lata,Lyrics_Rajinder Krishan,MD-Hemant Kumar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYdjhFLM8_s

13.Aajaa zara mere dil ke sahaare (Ek Jhalak) Singers-Geeta Dutt,Hemant Kumar,Lyrics-S H Bihari,MD-Hemant Kumar

10.Chhup ho jaa chhup ho jaa (Bandi)Singer-Kishore Kumar,Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan,MD-Hemant Kumar

7.O raat ke musafir (Miss Mary )Singers-Lata,Rafi,Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan,MD-Hemant Kumar

Binaca geetmala 1962 final

27.Zara nazaron se keh do ji (Bees Saal Baad) Singer-Hemant Kumar,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Hemant Kumar

13.Bhanwra bada naadaan hai (Sahab Bibi Aur Ghulam) Singer-Asha,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Hemant Kumar

6.Kaheen deep jale kaheen dil (Bees Saal Baad)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Hemant Kumar

Binaca geetmala 1963 final

8.Zindagi kitni khoobsoorat hai (Bin Badal Barsaat)Singer-Hemant Kumar,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Hemant Kumar

Binaca geetmala 1964 final

13.Jhoom jhoom dhalti raat (Kohra)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Hemant Kumar

Binaca geetmala 1967 final

5.Dheere Dheere Machal (Anupama,1966)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Kaifi Azmi,MD-Hemant Kumar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZlut3JAwgQ

Bollywood songs featuring Indian Railways

2008-07-01T13:19:00.021+05:30

Bollywood and Indian Railways are two major unifying forces in India. And when Bollywood depicts Indian Railways in their songs, the effect is nothing short of pure magic. Here, I will take you on a wonderful nostalgia filled ride of Bollywood songs filmed on Indian Railway trains. Enjoy !

Part I ( B&W Era songs- 1941-1964)

Song description- This must be one of the oldest Bollywood song filmed on Indian Railways, if not the oldest. This movie is called Doctor (1941) and one can see Punkaj Mullick singing joyously aboard a narrow guage train with wooden bodied coaches,later joined by the fellow passengers as well. As one can see, the coaches are much different from what we see today.There are no grills on the window. The coaches have EIR (East India Railway) written on them,a railway company that is no longer in existence, and obviously that kind of coaches and steam locomotive, and the narrow guage track, have long since vanished.This is a song that would regularly figure in Radio Ceylon ( later Sri Lanka Broadcasting corporation ) morning half hour programme (7-30 to 8 AM) called Purani filmon ke geet. watching the same song in addition to listening to it is such a wonderful experience that takes us back in time to 1941,67 years back. A must for nostalgia buffs. The song was sung by Punkaj Mallick, and he had acted in it too. Those were the days when playback singing was in its infancy and the actors had to sing their own songs.

Aayi bahaar (Doctor 1941) Singer-Punkaj Mullick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NX6S3aw6bc

Song description: This song is from 1954, when India had just become independent, and people were full of patriotic zeal and energy and they were busy building the nation.If you think that it is some old and forgotten song, think again. This song has attained a cult status for every Indian over the last 54 years. You may or may not know the name of the movie, you may not know who the actors were or what the story was, or how the song was picturised, but everyone of you has surely heard this song. And yes, this song was picturised on a train, hauled by a steam locomotive. And it is that immortal song with music of Hemant Kumar, lyrics and voice of kavi Pradeep. Movie is Jagriti (1954)

Aao bachchon tumhe dikhaye (Movie- Jaagriti) Singer-Pradeep,Lyrics-Pradeep,Music-Hemant Kumar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E09twioyfs

Song description -Have you travelled in Bombay local trains? Too crowded, you say ! What about going down memory lane and travelling on it as it was 50 years ago in 1958, with Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman as companion ? You may not have heard the name of the movie. It is called "Solva Saal", a misnomer, if you ask me. It should have been called " woh 6 ghante" or something similar. It was a beautiful movie that few have watched ( I watched it a few months back), but it must rank as one of the better movies of Dev Anand, and more importantly, Waheeda Rehman.Notice the music of the mouth organ. It was actually played by the then teenage prodigy Rahul Burman ( that is how the son of S D Burman was credited in this movie as assistant music director) The song, of course is better known even to this day ( it topped Binaca geetmala 1958 final). Sung by Hemant Kumar, lyrics by Majrooh, and music by S. D. Burman, it is:

Hai apna dil to awara na jaane kispe aayega( Solva saal) Singer-Hemant Kumar,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,Music- S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0GfbDFMxE

Song description:-What about travelling in the first class coupe? Waheeda Rehman and her parents have occupied three berths in a 4 berth coupe and a dashing guy joins them. A very feasible scenario even today. What would the single guy do in such a case ? He is of course interested in the girl, not in the buddhas. So he sings a carefully worded song talking of the "Uparwala" being deliberately ignorant. Hearing the word "Uparwala", Waheeda Rehman, who is on the upper berth, is scandalised, as does her mother, occupying the other upper berth. Then, she realises that "uparwala" does not mean her, it means the almighty above. Thank God, the song is not about me, it is about the God, she heaves a big sigh of relief. But as the song progresses, she is not so sure. She furtively tries to have a glance at the fellow singing the song which are obviously full of double entendre, even though her parents have been fooled.Notice Waheeda Rehman's expressions throughout the song. Priceless.

Movie is Kaala Bazar.Music by S D Burman,Lyrics by Shailendra and it is sung by Rafi

Apni to har aah ik toofan hai(Kaala Bazaar) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shailendra,Music-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KOYCgXLn3g

Song description:-This time, Dev Anand is alone with the girl ( Asha Parekh) in the first class coupe, and that has allowed them to open direct line of communication. An argument develops between the two and Dev Anand threatens to jump off the train. Hoping to call his bluff, Asha Parekh dares him to jump off. " Go on, jump, what are you waiting for"- she taunts Dev Anand. And Dev Anand, before Asha parekh knows what happened, jumps off. The stunned girl looks out, her heart in her mouth, and her heart quickly returns back to its rightful place, because Dev Saab has managed to land on the top of a bus that was very conveniently going down the road parallel to the rail track. And this offers just the right situation for our hero to break into a chart busting number

Jiya Ho, jiya ho jiya kuch bol to, dil ka parda khol to(jab pyar kisise hota hai) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,Music-Shankar Jaikishan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fycvu0WVcjY&feature=related

Song description:-When people travel by an Indian Railway train, they try all tricks in the book to get concessions. Students concession, freedom fighters concession, sports concession, Gallantary award concession, you name it. But the standard concessions still remain the same, no ticket ( for kids below 5 years of age, and half ticket for kids between 5 to 12 years of age. And posing as underage to claim this concession is an old trick. Here Kishore Kumar poses as a kid and travels on a half ticket.One of the great comedy songs filmed on a rail dibba, on the great comedian Kishore Kumar and others:

Cheel Cheel chilla ke kajri sunaaye( half Ticket) Singer and Actor- Kishore Kumar, Lyrics-Shailendra,Music-Salil Chowdhary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J47mDrKi80&feature=related

Part II(Colour era songs-1970 to present day)

Song description:-Another decade, another pair of actors, another parallel rail/ road situation. The girl is sitting in a tiny coach of the narrow gauge Darjeeling toy train being hauled by a steam locomotive,and the hero is riding on a jeep. Girl is trying to read an Alistair McLean novel, And the boy is singing an Anand Bakhshi song, and the song is the stuff that dreams are made of. Magical song ! S D Burman's magic at its best!

Mere sapno ki rani kab aayegi tu ( Aradhana)Singer-Kishore Kumar, Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,Music- S D Burman

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vo1MykK4u8U

Song description:-Boy has met the girl, the two have got introduced, have fallen in love with each other and are prepared to lead the rest of their lives together. And it is here that the harsh realities of life kick in. The duo needs to elope to somewhere else. And they take a goods train, where they travel on a haystack. And they sing a truly moving number aboard the train.Just notice a sari donning Zeenat Aman swaying to her heart's content in the breeze generated by the moving train. As you can see, R D Burman is not for nothing the son of S D Burman.

Hum dono do premi duniya chor chalen( Ajnabi)Singers-Lata & Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,Music-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPyt-NKIIfI

Song description:- The boy and girl have successfully weathered the storm and got married. But it is not a fairy tale end that they had expected. The boy suspects the girl of having an affair with his best friend. And this suspicion (baseless, as it turns out) loses him the girl. And he can only feel remorse and a sense of loss at what has happened. And the song that comes out of this pain is sure to move the listener and watcher too. Another R D Burman classic:

Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain jo mukaam( Aapki Kasam)Singer-Kishore Kumar,Lyrics-Anand bakshi,Music-R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlrPmoHBhSo

Song description:- A Kid grows up adoring trains that pass by near his place, whistling while doing so.Many years later, his near and dear one remember him every time they see a train passing by the same track and blowing the whistle. Really moving stuff.

Gadi bula rahi hai (Dost 1974), Singer-Kishore, Lyrics- Anand Bakshi, MD- Laxmikant Pyarelal

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aX92HaI2yVk

Song description:- Not just the passengers, even the locomotive drivers have personal lives, and they too have tender feelings. And like the passengers, the Engine driver too expresses his feelings in the form of a song, when he sees the lady of his dreams:

Dhanno ki aankhon mein pyar ka surma (Kitaab)Singer-R D Burman, Lyrics-Gulzar, MD- R D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rja031BlWbY

Song description:- And this time, the locomotive drivers, who have seen it all in their lives, sing a more philosophical song aboard the steam locomotive

Haathon ki chand lakeero ka( Vidhaata)Singers-Suresh Wadkar & Anwar,Lyrics-Anand bakshi,MD- Kalyanji Anandji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trCnRA2uoig

Song description- If you are a superstar then you do things differently from ordinary folks. Instead of singing within a coach, you stand on its rooftop and sing.If you agree to get down, you do so only when the train is moving.After all, you are the superstar of the millenium, not just any other Tom, Dick and Hari actor.

Aaj ka ye din, kal ban jaayega kal (Naastik)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD_Kalyanji Anandji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmF8pWyyRgU

Song description:- What about people riding on the rooftop of a train, Bihar ishtyle? The superstar of the millenium rode on the rooftop singing "Aj ka ye din" in "Nastik". Not to be undone, the present day superstar SRK, with a whole troupe of dancers muster up the courage to ride on the roof top,and even sing and dance there.That too on the ooty toy train.
warning- Do not try this when you go home and decide to ride a train, but you are permitted to sing and dance right now- at your home.

Chal Chaiya chaiya ( Dil se)Singers-sapna Awasthi, Sukhwinder Singh,Lyrics-Gulzar,MD- A R Rahman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlB1KNn5RfE

S D Burman in Binaca geetmala finals

2008-06-30T22:22:00.021+05:30

S D Burman had a glorious innings in Binaca geetmala. His songs appeared in Binaca geetmala right from the beginning.In fact,the lone S D Burman composition to appear in Binaca geetmala final 1954 topped the list ! And his composition topped the final list again in 1959.

He had a string of wonderful songs under his belt in a career that extended upto 1970s. If his first song in Binaca geetmala final was the chart topper, and his last song got 9th position in Binaca geetmala 1974 final.

In all, he had just over 50 songs in Binaca geetmala finals.Not a mean feat, considering that many of his finest songs failed to get high rankings because they were released at wrong time in the year for Binaca geetmala.For example, Aradhana song "Mere Sapno ki rani" was the most popular song in India for two years but that popularity was not reflected in Binaca geetmala rankings and it finished only 14th in Binaca geetmala 1969 finals, because it had not appeared in the weekly programmes for enough number of weeks. And the songs from 1960 movie Kala Bazaar also suffered similar fate.

More than the placings of his songs, it was the quality of his songs that makes them evergreen. Even his forgotten songs are wonderful to listen to. And his compositions continued to be of a high standard right till the end.

In fact, Binaca geetmala of 1970 and 1973 saw as many as 8 songs of S D Burman appearing in each of these finals. That way, he gave his own son tough competition in 1970s. And he was the only music director of older generation who continued to hold his own well into the 1970s right till the end, till he died in 1975.

Here is the list of S D Burman songs that appeared in Binaca geetmala finals :

Binaca geetmala 1954 final

1.jaayen to jaayen kahaan (Taxi Driver) Singer-Talat Mahmood, Lata,Lyrics-Sahir Ludhianvi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2OISgpEKpk

Binaca geetmala 1955 final

9.Jeevan ke safar mein raahi (Munimji)Singer-Kishore Kumar,Lata, Lyrics-Saahir Ludhianvi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4xqMa7gPIA

Binaca geetmala 1957 final

25.Ae meri topi palat ke aa (Funtoosh,1956) Singer-Kishore Kumar, Lyrics-Saahir Ludhianvi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qguRgAbVNXI

24.Hai hai hai ye nigaahen kar dein sharabi (Paying Guest) Singer-Kishore Kumar, Lyrics-Majrooh sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Z7OGSiAy0

9.Maana janaab ne pukaara nahin (Paying Guest)Singer-Kishore Kumar,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2qXuv3eO8k

6.Chhod do aanchal (Paying Guest)Singers-Asha,Kishore,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOTs0EqVgj8&feature=related

5.Aankhon mein kya jee (Nau Do Gyaarah)Singers-Asha & Kishore Kumar,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD- S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN0pVNARsCU

2.Sar jo tera chakaraaye (Pyaasa)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Saahir Ludhianvi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzQt2RtXWnw

Binaca geetmala 1958 final

11.Ho zara ruk jaa pyaare ruk jaa (Sitaron Se Aage)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

1.Hai apnaa dil to awaara (Solvaa Saal) Singer-Hemant Kumar,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0GfbDFMxE

Binaca geetmala 1959 final

27.Bachpan ke din bhi kya din the (Sujata)Singers-Geeta Dutt,Asha,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

23.Baabu samjho ishaare hauran pukaare(Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi,1958)Singers-Kishore Kumar & Manna Dey,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xaPYdJ_pjw

19.Chaand sa mukhda kyon sharmaaya (Insaan Jaag Utha)Singers-Rafi & Asha,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRIyQVhDIQc&feature=related

16.Jalte hain jikse liye (Sujata)Singer-Talat Mahmood,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7enKed5Zg5g&feature=related

12.Ik ladki bheegi bhaagi si (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi,1958)Singer-Kishore Kumar,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFE8bX_nKBo

5.Hum bekhudi mein tumko pukaare (Kala Pani,1958)Singer-Rafi,Lyricist-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1bkFhKFNHQ

Binaca geetmala 1960 final

32.Apni to har aah ik toofaan hai(Kala Bazaar) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KOYCgXLn3g

19.Yaad aa gayeen woh nasheeli (Manzil)Singer-Hemant Kumar,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c1D2dFb3U0

15.Khoya khoya chaand khula aasmaan (Kala Bazaar) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeCh08II2Cc&feature=related

5.Chal ri sajni ab kya soche (Bambai Ka Babu)Singer-Mukesh,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDvgvDClmnI

Binaca geetmala 1962 final

22.Na tum hamen jaano (Baat Ek Raat Ki)Singers-Hemant Kumar,Suman kalyanpur,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD- S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwHsLeC41oY

Binaca geetmala 1963 final

11.Tere ghar ke saamne (Tere Ghar Ke Saamne)Singers-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26qczSkLip8

10.O jaane wale ho sake to (Bandini)Singer-Mukesh,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRKs7O0iX_0

Binaca geetmala 1965 final

15.Likha hai teri aankhon mein (Teen Deviyan)Singer-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD4aOobcOPE&feature=related

14.Aaha yaar meri tum bhi ho (Teen Deviyan)Singers-Kishore,Asha,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsXpuLbIVg0

Binaca geetmala 1966 final

3.Gaata rahe mera dil (Guide,1965)Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Shailendra,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF50RQ5whXI

Binaca geetmala 1968 final

17.Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara (Jewel Thief,1967) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXGTkuB6iyM

6.Honthon Pe Aisi Baat (Jewel Thief,1967)Singers-Lata,Bhupendra,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Ywb8A9E_Q

Binaca geetmala 1969 final

32.Kora kaaghaz tha yeh man mera (Aradhana) Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql1-jjEPErw

14.Mere Sapnon Ki Rani kab aayegi tu(Aradhana) Singer-Kishore Kumar,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1MykK4u8U

Binaca geetmala 1970 final

32.Phoolon Ke Rang Se (Prem Pujari) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdPuOGazWZg

23.Khayi hai re humne kasam sang rahne ki(Talaash) Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YoCk7kFCII

22.Roop Tera Mastana(Aradhana,1969)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HenA-OUyo0s

20.Baghon Mein Bahaar Hai(Aradhana,1969)Singers-Lata,Rafi,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utTgwcvt948

15.Kora Kagaz Tha ye man mera(Aradhana,1969)Singers-Lata,Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql1-jjEPErw

10.Shokhiyon Mein Ghola Jayen(Prem Pujari)Singers-Lata,Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zznKniCY_iA

7.Yeh Dil Deewana Hai(Ishq Par Zor Nahin) Singers-Lata,Rafi,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTp9h6xAgsw

3.Rangeela Re(Prem Pujari) Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Neeraj,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G2AjlunOgc

Binaca geetmala 1971 final

25.O Meri Sharmilee(Sharmilee)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKifoFc574g

21.Khilte Hain Gul Yehan(Sharmilee)Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Neeraj,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhbL2RS7q94&feature=related

14.Jeevan Ki Bagiya Mahkegi (Tere Mere Sapne)Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Neeraj,Music- S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APMk_NELh2Q

5.Rama Rama Gajab Hui Gawa Re (Naya Zamana)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,Music-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDumwDWR6Os

Binaca geetmala 1973 final

31.Sun Ri Pawan (Anuraag,1972)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alF3RmIIaPI&feature=related

27.Gori Gori Gaon Ki Gori (Yeh Gulishtan Hamara,1972)Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukHQRad8c5k

23.Meet Na Mile Re Man Ka (Abhimaan)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

18.Gir gaya jhumka girne do (Jugnu) Singers-Lata,Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z_3ZRxKtGU

16.Tere mere milan ki yeh raina (Abhimaan) Singers-Kishore,Lata,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8IVa-7-2_w&feature=related

14.Mera naam aao mere paas aao (Yeh Gulishtan Hamaara,1972) Singers-Danny,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

9.Dheere se jaana khatiyan mein (Chhupa Rustam)Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Neeraj,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6i5skLa8VY

6.Tere nainon ke main deep(Anuraag,1972)Singers-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ4q0pcKqyU&feature=related

Binaca geetmala 1974 final

16.Meet na mila re man ka (Abhimaan,1973) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-S D Burman

9.Yeh laal rang kab mujhe chhodega (Prem Nagar) Singer-Kishore,Lyrics-Anand Bakshi,MD-S D Burman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjKBEpHEyAg

O P Nayyar in Binaca geetmala finals

2008-06-29T20:05:00.015+05:30

O P Nayyar, who had taken bollywood music world by storm in 1950s began to appear in Binaca geetmala programmes right from the beginning of this programme.

The first time O P Nayyar figured in Binaca geetmala final was in 1954 at number 3. Entire decade of 1950 was very productive for him,during which as many as as 7 of his songs figured in Binaca geetmala final 1959,and 5 songs in Binaca geetmala final 1957. In the Binaca geetmala final of 1956, he had four songs, including the number 1 song of that year.

Then his appearances in Binaca geetmala became few and far between, but then he got a second wind in the decade of 1960s.

Binaca geetmala 1969 final was the last final when his songs were heard in this programme. And the last song of O P Nayyar that was played at number 4 in Binaca geetmala 1969 final was a song that rather poignantly reflected his own personal life at that time, where he found himself alone,deserted by his near and dear ones :

Chal akela chal akela, tera mela peeche choota raahi chal akela

But no one can deny him his place in the Bollywood film music. He had left us lots and lots of evergreen songs to savour.

The list of his songs that appeared in Binaca geetmala finals is as follows:

Binaca geetmala 1954 final

3.Ye lo main haari piya (Aar Paar) Singer-Geeta Dutt,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXG0h63AA1c

Binaca geetmala 1955 final

16.Udhar tum haseen ho idhar dil jawaan hai (Mr & Mrs 55) Singers-Rafi,Geeta Dutt,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JbQs3L7A8c

Binaca geetmala 1956 final

10.Piya piya piya mora jiya (Baap Re Baap,1955) Singers-Asha & Kishore Kumar,Lyrics-Jaan Nissar Akhtar,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOQln6YHOpg

9.Aankhon hi aankhon mein ishaara ho gaya (C I D) Singers-Rafi,Geeta Dutt,Lyrics-Jaan Nissar Akhtar,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--sA1FZ7slY

6.Leke pahla pahla pyaar (C I D) Singers-Shamshad Begum & Rafi,Lyrics=Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFqGQ54WT9Y&feature=related

1.Ai dil hai mushkil jeena yahaan (C I D)Singers-Rafi & Geeta Dutt,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6INOamqU7xs

Binaca geetmala 1957 final

23.Thandi thandi hawaa poochhe unka pataa (Johnny Walker)Singers-Asha & Geeta Dutt,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD- O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkRuqSlxaAM

20.Ude jab jab zulfen teri (Naya Daur) Singers-Rafi,Asha,Lyrics-Saahir Ludhianvi,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSoYs6BvXQ8&feature=related

17.Main Bambai ka baboo (Naya Daur)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Saahir Ludhianvi,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoVnE9uizX8

16.Maang ke saath tumhara (Naya Daur)Singers-Asha & Rafi,Lyrics-Saahir Ludhianvi,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daraaBq3R6o&feature=related

8.Antam fantam chhod de babu (Ham Sab Chor Hain,1956)Singer-Asha,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-O P Nayyar

Binaca geetmala 1958 final

29.Chhor lutere daaku phire hain aawaara kahin (Ustaad,1957) Singer-Geeta Dutt,Lyrics-Jaan Nissar Akhtar,MD- O P Nayyar

27.Surmaa mera niraala (Kabhi Andhera Kabhi Ujala)Singer-Kishore Kumar,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-O P Nayyar

18.Ik pardesi mera dil le gaya (Phagun)Singers-Rafi & Asha,Lyrics-qamar Jalalabadi,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOg0i5-JXu4

17.Pyaar par bas to nahin hai mera (Sone Ki Chidiya)Singer-Talat Mahmood,Lyrics-Saahir Ludhianvi,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRNgC5whfpM

15.Eent ki dukki paan ka ikkaa (Howrah Bridge)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Qamar Jalalabadi,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOSFjG_CaAI

14.Sar par topi laal haath mein resham ka rumaal (Tumsa Nahin Dekha,1957)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CH3lmgQNq8&feature=related

10.Yoon to hamne laakh haseen dekhe hain (Tumsa Nahin Dekha,1957)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultapuri,MD- O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkdCGNvJeB4&feature=related

Binaca geetmala 1959 final

27.Main main main cartoon (Mr Qartoon MA,1958)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri,MD-O P Nayyar

Binaca geetmala 1962 final

25.Hongkong China meena Singapore (Hongkong) Singer-Asha,Lyrics-S H Bihari,MD-O P Nayyar

24.Aap yoon hi agar hamse milte rahe (Ek Musafir Ek Haseena)Singer-Rafi,Asha,Lyrics_Raja Mehdi Ali Khan,MD- O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYFfW2xq5oM

20.Mujhe dekhkar aapka muskaraana (Ek Musafir Ek Haseena)Singer-Rafi,Asha,Lyrics-S H Bihari,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_k5y-QD7no

15.Bahut shukriya badi meharbaani (Ek Musafir Ek Haseena )Singer-Rafi,Asha,Lyrics-S H Bihari,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW7fFc1eQuw&feature=related

Binaca geetmala 1964 final

19.Banda parwar thaam lo jigar (Phir Wohi Dil Laaya Hoon,1963)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1VNKtgUCJg

7.Ye chaand sa roshan chehra (Kashmir Ki Kali)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-S H Bihari,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txv7RCe8DXM

Binaca geetmala 1966 final

5.Huzoor-e-waala jo ho ijaazat (Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi) Singers-Asha,Minoo Purushottam,Lyrics-Aziz Kashmiri,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7XIwJTwD9Q

Binaca geetmala 1969 final

24.Dil Ki Awaaz Bhi Sun(HumSaya)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shewan Rizwi,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_l1vIJhnrc

13.Kajra Mohabbatwala (Kismat) Singer-Asha Bhosle,Shamshad Begum,Lyrics-S H Bihari,MD-O P Nayyar S H Bihari

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLnJfodDTSw

4.Chal Akela Chal Akela (Sambandh) Singer-Mukesh,Lyrics-Pradeep,MD-O P Nayyar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1rtgt6izXI

Naushad in Binaca geetmala finals

2008-06-29T14:17:00.019+05:30

Songs of music director Naushad, one of the original greats of Bollywood film music began to appear in Binaca geetmala right from the time this programme became a countdown show. Naushad's songs have figured in Binaca geetmala finals regularly from 1954 to 1970. Then after a break of 12 years, Naushad made his last and final appearance in Binaca geetmala 1982.

Here are all Naushad compositions that have appeared in Binaca geetmala finals:

Note- Videos with link open in separate windows
Binaca geetmala 1954 final

7.Man ki been matawaari baaje (Shabab) Singers-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

4.Insaaf kaa mandir hai ye (Amar) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,Music-Naushad

Binaca geetmala 1955 final

11.More sainyaa jee utrenge paar ho (Udan Khatola)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

4.O Door ke musaafir (Udan Khatola) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

2.Mera salaam le jaa (Udan Khatola)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eg2kZQ3cb4&feature=related

Binaca geetmala 1958 final

13.Nagari nagari dwaare dwaare Dhoodhu re (Mother India,1957)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD- Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLzr9CZui6Q

12.Duniya mein ham aaye hain to (Mother India,1957)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD- Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNFPjvT5PJM&feature=related

Binaca geetmala 1960 final

28.Jadoogar qaatil haazir hai (Kohinoor) Singer-Asha, Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7_Efo3uljY&feature=related

27.Mohe panghat pe Nandlal (Mughal-E-Azam)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJOkkUOU7UQ

8.Mohabbat ki jhoothi kahaani pe roye (Mughal-E-Azam)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRgYgryGwtQ&feature=related

4.Pyaar kiya to darna kya(Mughal-E-Azam)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My0ALKW8c9Q&feature=related

Binaca geetmala 1961 final

25.Hamen kaash tumse mohabbat (Mughal-E-Azam, 1960)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkMepBNtQ-8

24.Do hanson ka joda bichhud gayo re (Ganga Jamuna)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakkel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gQYG3OWkA0

21.Do sitaaron ka zameen par hai milan (Kohinoor, 1960) Singers-Rafi & Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD- Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4zhsxeA9Kg

14.Madhuban mein Raadhika naache re (Kohinoor, 1960) Singer-Ameer Khan,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIWtdQwaoz0

Binaca geetmala 1962 final

9.Dhhoondo dhhoondo re saajna (Ganga Jamuna,1961)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

2.Do hanson ka joda (Ganga Jamuna,1961)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqUpGHpsJRY

Binaca geetmala 1963 final

16.Dil todne waale tujhe (Son Of India,1962)Singers-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGZYdM_4oxA

9.Aaj chhedo mohabbat ki (Son Of India,1962)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LYybpEXOww

Binaca geetmala 1964 final

18.Mujhe duniya waalo sharaabi na samjho (Leader)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM82ykHHXsI

14.Tere husn ki kya taareef karoon (Leader)Singer-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7fwvoE8Al4

3.Mere mehboob tujhe (Mere Mehboob,1963)Singers-Rafi,Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agxjCItG7EM

Binaca geetmala 1967 final

32.Kal Raat Zindagi Se Mulaqaat (Palki) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhFuqylJZio

7.Aayi Hain Baharein (Ram Aur Shyam ) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

Binaca geetmala 1968 final

30.Aaj Ki Raat Mere (Ram Aur Shyam, 1967) Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUZkTcjGhIM

Binaca geetmala 1969 final

28.Mere Jeevan Saathi(Saathi)Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SB9AgUDJ18&feature=related

21.Mera Pyar Bhi Tu Hai(Saathi) Singers-Mukesh,Suman Kalyanpur,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rrlwnNASts

5.Mere Paas Aao Nazar To Milao (Sunghursh) Singer-Lata,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

Binaca geetmala 1970 final

25.Duniya Hanse(Ganwaar)Singer-Rafi,Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THEcKAt5Bg0

Binaca geetmala 1982 final

11.Yeh Gotedaar Lehenga (DharamKaanta)Singers-Asha,Rafi,Lyrics-Majrooh Sultanpuri,MD-Naushad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-REd-gTx3A