JK sent an advertisement of a 'Two in One' (A Cassette Player and Radio for the uninitiated) last week. This ad about Bush Radio and Tape Recorder came in the late seventies and my uncle had one. This was our first exposure to songs on a tape and I have listened to Muqqadar Ka Sikandar... Continue Reading →
India at 75. Few Thoughts…
The first Independence Day celebration I remember is the 25th Anniversary of Independence celebrated in 1972. I was nine years old and the Government Primary School where I was studying, arranged an elocution competition. The topic was 'Village or City Life - which is better.' I still remember the teacher who wrote the essay for... Continue Reading →
Nadha Vindhu – நாத விந்து – Tradition & Devotion at its best.
Renuka's aunt from Australia sent a WhatsApp clip in the morning and commented that her mother used to sing this song well. Renuka played the clip and I sang few lines along. It is probably few decades since I last listened to the song. The song was Nadha Vindhu, a hymn on Lord Muruga written... Continue Reading →
India’s Noam Chomsky – Introducing Pratap Bhanu Mehta.
First a confession. I bunked work yesterday and spent time watching YouTube videos; some trivia, some trash and lot of serious stuff. Now that the guilt is off my chest, let me get to the subject. Rachna and her cousins spent some time vacationing in Udaipur and on her return, she said, "Dad you know... Continue Reading →
Tora Tora Tora – 1970.
Few years ago, I sat down to find out the best of World War II movies and collect them. This was much before Netflix had come to India so the idea was to buy Blu-ray disc. Couple of movies I had seen, had figured in the list and many did not. I was thinking that... Continue Reading →
London – Calcutta – London. By Bus?
"Hold on! Hold on!" I am shouting at the conductor, running behind the bus, that was just pulling out of Victoria Memorial, Calcutta. The driver applies the brake and bus screeches to a halt, and I hop in. "Where to?" "London." I sit next to a window and watch as the city passes by. Soon... Continue Reading →
Famous Final Acts – From Movies.
This is one blog, I debated for a long time, with myself, should I write or not? What good will come out of it, if one writes only about the last scene in a movie. People who had watched already, know about it, and for the ones who have not, it is not a just... Continue Reading →
Operation Day Break – 1975.
Ramakrishnan, my uncle, took me to Safire Theater to watch this movie when I was in Class VIII. This was the first English movie I watched and also first time I stepped into a place which had air-conditioning. This may sound like an old Peter Pan lingerie ad, "The first time I wore Peter Pan,... Continue Reading →
Khrushchev, Gagarin & Kraftwerk.
Khrushchev: I admire the optimism of our leaders of the left parties. They are in a kind of Time Warp and still think that they can somehow transport India to Marxism and Leninism. Mr. D. Raja, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India, wrote an article in Indian Express, a leading Newspaper in India... Continue Reading →
Rubber Head – Rajesh Khanna.
Rajesh Khanna was a very popular Actor, probably the first Super Star of Indian Cinema. He produced fifteen solo hit films in a span of three years. I don't think this record is matched by anyone. Young women adored him; his songs were hummed by everyone. He became a member of the parliament and won... Continue Reading →