The manic energy of trance has weaned a lot of young Hindi film music fans off familiar loops and the old robes of comforting grooves. It is not surprising then that Hindi film music as we knew it, has left ...Read More
The thing about the past is that it never comes back and yet never really leaves. Shamshad Begum for instance is not just a Wikipedia note with a birthday and a death day. She is a memory for those of ...Read More
In a world where a random shooting spree can take away 20 young lives in a school, what do we need from not just our law makers, law enforcers, politicians but our musicians, artists, writers, film makers? Through the ages, ...Read More
Pandit Ravi Shankar passed away today. Rajinikanth turned 62. Dilip Kumar turned 90 yesterday. Smita Patil passed away almost 26 years ago on December 13. Births, deaths. Years counted, measured, emptied out. filled up. This whole idea of time and ...Read More
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Winter evenings might be getting colder in Delhi now, but the festival circuit is surely hotting up. With a string of art and culture festivals lined up this season, where else would one want to be but in the capital ...Read More
Tragedy does not respect fame or talent or abundance. It strikes with cold precision and takes away what it must. And also destroys the notion that the rich and the successful are impervious to loss. The suicide of writer Varsha Bhosle, ...Read More
One of the most awaited classical dance festivals in the city is back. Featuring specially designed, site-specific group choreographies, Ananya Dance Festival’12 – now in its 11th year - will light up the majestic Purana Qila monument in New Delhi ...Read More
Yes Mubarak Begum is around. And no, she isn’t doing well. I know no one asked but it's one of those moments in life when a question need not precede the answer.
A few years ago, a dusty drive to Behram ...Read More
Imagine being 16 and heedlessly in love with a man almost 16 years older than you. Imagine eloping with him and then walking out of a broken marriage with two children and a third on the way. Imagine being in ...Read More
We celebrate Rajesh Khanna with 20 of his most memorable songs that sum up his charisma, his magic, his unsung range and his indelible impact on the vocabulary of cinematic romance. This is by no means a definitive list (and ...Read More
Mehdi Hassan's voice was not the voice of populism. His was the voice of riyaz, of uncompromised passion and excellence..the kind you cannot stumble by but have to earn through years of application, commitment and diligence. This voice was not ...Read More
My most resonant memory of 70s music is when during the preparations of our school annual functions, we would hear Lipps Incorporated's Funky Town again and again. And again. We had no access to Western music except on radio and ...Read More
