Archive for the ‘Ghazal’ Category
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Pankaj Mullick fondly remembers his time and interactions with Saigal Saab. In the year 1931, Pankaj Mullick was associated with India Broadcasting Company, as a vocalist and a music trainer. This company ran the Calcutta Radio Station, (prior to the advent of All India Radio). One evening, Pankaj Da found a young gentleman in the waiting room for visitors. When asked about why he was there, the young man introduced himself as Kundan Lal Saigal, from Jalandhar, and said that he aspired to sing for the Calcutta Radio Station. Impressed with the winsome manner and a voice that enchanted, even as he spoke, Pankaj Da took him to meet NN Majumdar, the director of programs. An audition was arranged immediately. Pankaj Da writes, “. . . For its charming melody and rhythm, distinct pronunciation and neat articulation, embellished with an exceedingly sweet and melodious nasal tone, the audition emerged as something really superb. Mr. Majumdar arranged to broadcast Saigal’s song from the Calcutta Station that very night, and asked the young man to join straight away as a regular artist of the company”.
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“Zeenat” (1945) is a movie that is directed by Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. This movie had Noorjahaan, Zohrabai Ambalewaali, Cuckoo, Shashikala (then a child), Baby Khursheed (later known as Shyama) etc. In fact, this movie seems to be a movie with mainly female actors . : D All the eight songs of this movie have been sung only by female singers, and that includes an all female qawwaali (Aahen na bharin shiqwe na kiye ).
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The films in India started to talk in 1931, and with it came the music and the songs, that are so inseparable from the culture of this country. No matter what part of the country one talks about, music is the flow that nurtures and strengthens the emotional character of the society. And the music immediately became a crucial thread in the talking films, and the films became a pivotal medium for the folk and popular music to prosper. It was with the coming of the talking films that the concept of a ‘music’ industry was born in India.
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Jaanaa thhaa hamse door
Posted on: September 5, 2011
I have discussed as many as four songs from “Adaalat” (1958) and I was surprised to receive the lyrics of this song from Prakashchandra. When I checked up, I found that this well known song from “Adaalat” (1958) was actually missing from the blog.
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Searching for unknown songs from B grade movies is almost always a highly rewarding experience. I always discover some amazing gems ervery time I indertake this exercise.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
It is a well known fact that Saigal Saab did not have any formal training classical music. As a child, he was blessed by and initiated into the practice of riyaaz by Pir Salman Yusuf, a sufi saint in Jammu. This blessing, and the word of his first Guru, led to a secret discipline, which was akin to a pursuit in spiritual internalization. It molded his voice such that his voice gained an unusual musical power – an emotional content that is not generally cared for in formal training. Saigal Saab has this dexterity to make the words glow with music, as he sings. In ghazal singing, his swara’s power the words from within, such that the music does never seem to interfere with the flow of words. It is like a magic. From the lowest note, he can move his voice so smoothly to the higher octaves, without ever becoming shrill even when he touches the highest notes. Throughout the entire rendition, there is a smooth and vivid timbre to the sound that is very pleasant. Nowhere can the listener detect any vibrations, or ‘kampan’.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Saigal, a voice that became still more than sixty years ago, is still regarded as the unvanquished king of Hindi film music. The prodigious voice of Saigal, the Golden Voice as many writers have referred to him, is a wonder that has not since been emulated again. And this person of humble and affable personality, also carried a heart of gold.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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