Thinking of new adjectives for her is actually a waste of time, because Roget's thesaurus has been exhausted in the attempt. What I can say is that she has one of the most beautiful voices ever to have graced any music world, and we are lucky that she was born and did her singing in India. Where would we be (particularly people of my generation), without her melodies?
Her music was like a bed of roses, in a world full of angst. Sixties, when she probably came into her own, was not a happy decade for India, what with shortages of sugar, kerosene, cooking oil, and sometimes grains and milk. But listen to her sing, and all thoughts of those hardships vanished. I think that was the quality she brought to it. My first introduction to her songs was probably in the movie Shikaar where she sang 'Parde mein rehne do, parda na uthao, parda jo uth gaya to bhed khul jaayega', followed by Jewel Thief in which she sang a Tanuja song 'Raat akeli hai, bujh gaye diye, aake mere paas, kaano me mere'..to seduce Dev Anand with his crimped neck enveloped in a scarf- it was wonderful!
She quickly followed up (in my chronology) with the Teesri Manzil gems (Helen owes her one), and then 'Piya tu ab to aaja', and a number of fast-paced OP Nayyar songs, and to me in those days, the greatest of them all. Dum Maro Dum. This song alone must have had the greatest impact on a generation, I am quite positive- though I don't have research to prove it. The magic that RD Burman's music and her voice together created was something, even beyond this song. For instance, 'Jaane jaan', from Jawani Diwani is a classic, where her voice appears completely different.
Well, I can go on and on, but I will just say that her voice was always youthful, and it's no wonder the youth idolised her. But she also made an impact on the serious (older?) listeners with her Umrao Jaan ghazals. 'Dil cheez kya hai aap meri, jaan leejiye'..wow, she is great medicine for the blues, to drive them away.
Her music was like a bed of roses, in a world full of angst. Sixties, when she probably came into her own, was not a happy decade for India, what with shortages of sugar, kerosene, cooking oil, and sometimes grains and milk. But listen to her sing, and all thoughts of those hardships vanished. I think that was the quality she brought to it. My first introduction to her songs was probably in the movie Shikaar where she sang 'Parde mein rehne do, parda na uthao, parda jo uth gaya to bhed khul jaayega', followed by Jewel Thief in which she sang a Tanuja song 'Raat akeli hai, bujh gaye diye, aake mere paas, kaano me mere'..to seduce Dev Anand with his crimped neck enveloped in a scarf- it was wonderful!
She quickly followed up (in my chronology) with the Teesri Manzil gems (Helen owes her one), and then 'Piya tu ab to aaja', and a number of fast-paced OP Nayyar songs, and to me in those days, the greatest of them all. Dum Maro Dum. This song alone must have had the greatest impact on a generation, I am quite positive- though I don't have research to prove it. The magic that RD Burman's music and her voice together created was something, even beyond this song. For instance, 'Jaane jaan', from Jawani Diwani is a classic, where her voice appears completely different.
Well, I can go on and on, but I will just say that her voice was always youthful, and it's no wonder the youth idolised her. But she also made an impact on the serious (older?) listeners with her Umrao Jaan ghazals. 'Dil cheez kya hai aap meri, jaan leejiye'..wow, she is great medicine for the blues, to drive them away.
4 comments:
Anytime I heard a scotch commercial - goes down smooth - I knew it could apply to her too.. not sure why title of your blog is dated (per TOI she turned 80 - perhaps she turned 80 Times?) Journos always get dates and number of dead counts confused..
My TV channels said 79, and I believed them...maybe like Bata prices, it is more palatable to be something 9. Nan nan nanty nan, as the Southern accented in the US would say.
ha - that could be a good stump for desi Naan commercial.. now naan naans for naan dollars
yeah, sounds just about raat.
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