THE RINK, MUSSOORIE

The picture, largely in red, and the caption in Times of India, "Inferno Reduces Hilly Icon To Ashes" caught my attention. It further said that a fire broke out in a hotel in Mussoorie in which "The Rink", 'an iconic 19th century heritage building was reduced to ashes....It had once housed Asia's largest wooden skating rink.'

That brought back memories of my visits to The Rink Hotel. The first was in 1949 when Masarji was commanding the 5th Gorkha Rifles in Dehradun and Mansi invited Mummy and me, age 10, to spend the summer holidays with them. We went up to Mussoorie for a week and visited the Hotel a few times. Then in 1965, I visited Mussoorie with the National Defence College team and found time to skate in The Rink. My final visit was in June 1995, when I took Mummy, Akhila and the kids to the hill station to escape the simmering Delhi summer for a while. This time, aging bones dictated that I stay away from skating and let Ruchir and Shumita indulge in the sport.

But the predominant memory is one of 1949. On an evening out, we went to the The Rink and I was introduced to the art of roller skating. I indulged in it for about an hour and loved it.

The next afternoon, I asked Mummy to take me skating again. The Hotel was more than 4 kms. from where we were staying, too far to go walking. Mummy was more keen on her siesta than to venture out looking for a rickshaw, the only transport available. So she firmly declined while I kept on insisting on going. She got into bed and I walked out saying I was headed for The Rink, come what may, hoping she would be forced to follow.

After I had walked a bit, I turned around to see whether Mummy was following me. That is when things went wrong. As Mummy told me later, she had just stepped out to see where I was. When she saw me turning, she thought I was coming back and went back to bed. On the other hand, when I saw her out in the open, I reckoned she was following me! 

Smug in my belief that my pressure tactics had worked, I resumed my march to The Rink. I reached the bend where the Mall Road began and stopped for Mummy to catch up but she was nowhere in sight. To make matters worse, it started to rain. There was a small bandstand by the roadside and I took shelter in it.

Now I was worried and at a loss wondering what to do. How long would it rain, should I go back to the house, although there was only one road but the house was a little off it and what if I missed it in poor visibility? I was also beginning to dread thoughts of the reception I might get on my return! Worry, worry, worry, and panic had started to creep in.

Just then, I saw a rickshaw with a lady partly hidden under an umbrella. As it passed the bandstand, I realised the lady was Mummy and ran after the rickshaw shouting for her. The rickshaw puller finally heard me and allowed me to catch up. I got into the rickshaw and a chilly silence prevailed between Mummy and me. She must have given the rickshaw puller directions earlier because he headed for The Rink and dropped us there. Mummy finally broke the silence telling me, “Go and skate.”

Spoilt kid? Perhaps.

WHAT IF....?

Mid-September is the time of year when I like to sit and look back at how years have gone by. 

An incident that involved Mummy over 40 years ago provided the theme for my thinking this time. We were staying on the 5th floor in the SP Marg flats. Mummy was with us and used to take Shumita, 5, for walks outside. One evening, the lift got stuck between floors. Shumita was panicking but Mummy kept her cool and while comforting Shumita, started rattling the lift doors and shouting for help. It took quite some time before some neighbours heard her and summoned an electrician who pulled Mummy and Shumita out of the lift. All this while, Mummy was completely calm and composed.

They came home and told us about the incident. It is then that Mummy burst out crying and wouldn't stop. We had a hard time pacifying her and asked her why she was crying when all was well. She said, "What if nobody had heard me and helped?"

We often ask ourselves what if something had happened differently and dismiss the thought lightly. But each of us would have been subject to a few major incidents that set the course of one's life in an unalterable direction. Mostly, there would have been an alternate. And then the question might have arisen, "What if 'that' had happened?"

Here are some in my book.

I. The first incident was the biggest influencer in my life. In 1942, my father, 30, passed away after a brief illness in Alwar. I was 4 and Mummy, 21. She had been married at the age of 16 just after becoming the first girl from our community to complete high school which she did as the only girl in a Boys' college in Mathura. Pitaji, my Nana, rushed to Alwar and brought Mummy and me to Mathura. Mummy was packed off to Benares, now Varanasi, to restart her education and I was taken care of by Pitaji and Mataji.

What if Daddy had lived his full life? Would we have remained in Alwar where he was working, what kind of schooling would I have had, would I have had siblings, etc., etc. Obviously, life would have been very different.

There could be a sub what-if too. Normally in a patriarchal society, which we were, Mummy and I might have been asked to live with my Dadi. My Dada had already passed away and my Dadi was very conservative and not educated. For sure, Mummy would not have been allowed to study further and would have been confined to the house in the purdah-dominated environment. And what kind of education would I have had?

Instead, Pitaji's broad mindedness and foresight shaped the course of our lives. Pitaji became my father, Mataji, an additional mother and my two Mamas, loving and respected brothers. The pain of losing my father was hugely mitigated by all their love and care. I was pampered by other relations as well and I was often teased by those close to me that I was a spoilt kid!

II. The next big happening was how I went to the NDA instead of St. Stephen's College, Delhi. After completing my Senior Cambridge from St. Xavier's, Jaipur, I had applied to join the NDA as also St. Stephen's College. Delhi. I qualified for the NDA but till mid-July, had not received any orders to join it. Meanwhile, I was called to Delhi for an interview at St. Stephen's and granted admission on payment of admission and boarding fees which were quite substantial. Determined not to waste Pitaji's money, I was in a dilemma, St. Stephen's or NDA? I mentioned the problem to the Principal who gave me half an hour to make up my mind. 

I managed to get a few coins, went to a Public Call phone (PCO), found a telephone directory, rang up the Army Exchange and got through to Col. Sharma, my Mausaji, who was posted in the Army HQ. I explained the situation to him and he said he would try to find out and that I should call him back in 15 minutes. I got through to him again and he informed me that my joining instructions had already been posted to Jaipur and I had to join the NDA in 3 days' time. St. Stephen's was declined, I rushed back to Jaipur and thence to Kharakvasla by train.

Many things could be subjected to 'what-if' here. 10 paise coins were hard to get, PCOs were infamous for not functioning, a tele directory was not found in most PCOs, Masarji (as I called him) might not have been available; everything had to work for me to get my information and it did. Otherwise, I would have been a bureaucrat or in the teaching profession as suggested by Father Mackessack at St. Xavier's!

III. NDA was a step I had taken to join the Navy and see the world. But after one term and six months of mental and physical ragging, marching like robots stomping heavily booted feet on the parade ground, jumping on wooden horses, dangling off the ground on beams, etc., it didn't seem to make any sense to me. Another factor disturbed me. After the first term in 'F' squadron and getting used to officers, fellow cadets and drill staff there, I was transferred to the newly formed 'K' and had to start adjusting all over again. Besides, the next course, 15th, was delayed and till they arrived, ragging for our course continued as we were still the juniormost. 

So I became convinced that I was not going to subject myself to all that nonsense any more. I decided to leave the NDA and informed my Divisional Officer and Pitaji. There was panic at home and my Mamas were told to visit me and find out what was troubling me. Over the next month, they made a number of visits and my Div Offr spoke to me for about an hour every day trying to convince me to stay on. But to no avail; I stuck to my decision to leave. Finally, Pitaji sent me a letter enclosing a request to the Commandant to release me and agreeing to bear all expenses NDA may levy for my training so far. Pitaji also wrote that before approaching the Commandant, I might like to read another letter that he was enclosing.

That letter was a 26 page masterpiece from Shashi Mama to Pitaji in which he trashed my grounds for leaving and summed me up as a stubborn mule bent on doing something totally unjustifiable. I read the letter a few times, tore Pitaji's request to the Commandant and informed everyone concerned that I would stay on in the NDA.

What if Pitaji had not shared that letter with me? He and Mummy were quite sympathetic with me and had started planning for my return. Pitaji had contacted St. Stephen's who were ready to admit me for BA Honours (Economics) in the next academic session. And what if I had dismissed Shashi Mama's arguments like I had been doing everyone's including his for over a month? However, that letter set my future course and I am a retired naval officer today and not a bureaucrat or educationist.

I had preserved that letter all through my career but lost it during my final move after retiring from the Navy. I wish I had it with me now so I could calmly go through it and try to understand what went through my mind then.

IV. The following incident sounds comic now but scared the hell out of me when it happened. I have described it in detail in my earlier blog 'Survival Tale II-Dismissal From Navy'. Briefly, during the visit of a US naval ship to Cochin, my coursemate Bakshish Singh and I, along with an American officer, were spotted on the road by the Base Commander (second-in-command) carrying a glass of drink in our hands while in uniform. The Commander threatened to throw us out of the Navy for what he called 'unofficer-like-behaviour'. According to Bakshish, this seemingly exaggerated threat was due to the fact that he had declined to marry the Cdr's daughter. To save our careers, I implored Bakshish to accept the Cdr's proposal but he said he couldn't do that as he was already committed to another girl.

Our appointment for being marched up to the Captain was in a few days' time. Meanwhile, some close relative of the Cdr passed away and he proceeded on leave. The case was then handled by the Acting Cdr who was a fine, large-hearted gentleman and we escaped with a scolding by the Captain.

What if the Cdr did not have to go away? I have often wondered if the Captain would have taken the extreme step of dismissal but he did have a tough reputation and was known as 'bulldog'. The Cdr seemed bent on throwing us out and as we were under training, it was within the powers of the Captain to dismiss us.

V. War over and happily married, I was looking forward to undergo the 1973 Staff College Course in Wellington as it was the turn of officers of my seniority to be selected. I was shocked, therefore, when the list came out but my name was missing. I put in a representation backed by Rear Admiral Sarma, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and my boss, but there was no response from NHQ. Shashi Mama (Cdr PK Sharma) was in Delhi and met the Dy Director concerned in the Personnel Branch who told him that I should forget about Staff College. Apparently my mediocre (though improved from the  original 'adverse' through the intervention of RAdm Vasu Kamath, FOC Southern Command) report from OiC Signal School had come in the way of my selection.

In time the '74 list was put out which also did not have my name. Late '73, Cmde Mohan Grewal, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, was promoted to RAdm and transferred to NHQ as Asstt Chief of Personnel (ACOP). Within a few days, a signal was received adding my name to the '74 list.

Adm Grewal knew me from the NDC days in '65-'66 when he was Junior Directing Staff (Navy) and I was Flag Lt to Comdt. In Vizag too, we had a good equation and he had sympathised with me over my non-selection. So he corrected that wrong as soon as he got the opportunity to do so.

What if Adm Grewal had got a job other than ACOP? I would certainly have missed Staff College and probably shifted to some inane staff job in Vizag and passed over for promotion. Instead, I topped the '74 Course which washed out the mediocre report and I was promoted to Cdr at the end of my Course.

VI. By early-1985, I had commanded Trishul for about a year and a half and was due for my next posting. I received the NHQ letter appointing me as Defence Advisor, Indian High Commission, Singapore, to report by end-April, by which time the incumbent would have completed 3 years of normal tenure plus one year of extension granted to him. My family and I looked forward to moving to Singapore and began our preparations. But soon, there was another letter deferring my transfer as the incumbent had been granted an additional six months extension. I was slightly disappointed but quite happy with the resultant extension of my command and our eventual move to Singapore.

One evening, Kailash Kohli who was commanding Ganga, came over and said he had something important to tell me. He had gone to see the FOCinC and while waiting outside, overheard a telephone conversation between the CNS and the CinC to the effect that I was too senior to go to Singapore and that somebody else should be appointed as DA Singapore.

I thanked Kailash and immediately conveyed this to a senior well-wisher of mine in NHQ. My appointment held firm and I was in Singapore by end-October.

What if Kailash had not overheard the conversation or decided not to tell me? As I learnt subsequently, the threat was real and my family and I were on the verge of missing the 3 good years we had in Singapore. More than that, Ruchir and Shumita would not have had the high quality education and the wide, international exposure they got at the United World College, Singapore, which has stood them in good stead.

VII. 65 years ago, when we were cadets, our ship Tir was at anchor off Port Blair. Lt HML Saxena,  Navigating Officer, took us out in the ship's fast motor boat to teach us boat handling. I, a non-swimmer, fell overboard into the rough Andaman Sea and went underwater while the boat kept going. As I surfaced, I saw the ship's whaler, tied to the boom, next to me. I grabbed it and climbed into it and was picked up after a while.

What if I had surfaced below the whaler instead of by its side? Or what if I had surfaced a little bit away from the boat?

But here I am telling you these tales. "The moving finger writes...."

 

 

  

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

A famous quote from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is "What's in a name'?". In a soliloquy, Juliet, a Capulet in love with Romeo belonging to the sworn rival Montague clan, asks the question and goes on to provide an answer, "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet", implying that names are irrelevant and it is the nature and characteristics of the person that matter.

In our family, as in many others in India, it was forbidden to address older relatives by name. I guess when the first child arrived in a family, he or she was told to address the parents and relatives by monikers which then continued to be used by siblings and future generations. So my Nana's father was known as Chachaji and mother as Bahuji. And everybody including me, a great grandchild, called them that. My cousins and I called my Nana, Pitaji, and Nani, Mataji, and so did our children. On my father's side, I identified a granduncle as Alwarwale Chachaji due to his city of residence.

Many names particularly of ladies were not ever known. Thereby hangs a tale. Bahuji went blind at a very young age and used to spend the daytime draped in a thin cotton sari sitting on a coir charpoy in the 'aangan' of her house. One day, Mummy, then just a kid, got curious and asked Bahuji her name. Bahuji told her to keep quiet and go away but Mummy kept on pestering her. Bahuji's third son, teenager Brijendra Chacha was nearby and listening. He picked up a piece of coal and started scribbling on Bahuji's back which Mummy quite innocently read out loud as he wrote. She went, "Ja-ga-bha-vi-ni" when Bahuji shouted and scolded her for being impertinent because that was her name!

Akhila's family followed the same rule. Her father was called Babuji and mother, Amma, and the whole of Bijnor knew them thus. 

At the National Defence Academy, we were around 1200 cadets at any one time. For clear identification, we were assigned a number and I was 2134 by which I would be known rather than by name. The numbers have stuck to us ever since and some of us still refer to a coursemate by his number. Jhangoo Aga, 2133, and I used to exchange letters addressing one another that way.

It was very important, though, to know a senior's name, in fact the full name, or one would be subject to intensive ragging. I must have done countless front and back rolls till I finally learnt to pronounce and spell the full form of the initials KASZ belonging to one of my seniors, Kankipati Appala Satyanarayana Zagapathi Raju.

A somewhat odd practice in traditional families was for wives and husbands not to take each other's name. I would find it somewhat funny when Pitaji, wanting Mataji's attention, would say, "Kyonji, mein kya keh raha hoon?" Mataji would be more brief and direct with just "Sunoji".

The tradition continues. I am not used to calling Akhila by her name and we catch each other's attention through "Listen". For a short while, I tried 'Darling' abbreviated to 'D+' but then fell back on 'listen'. 

That word is used by many other couples. Interestingly, a very close friend's wife even when talking to Akhila, refers to her spouse as "my husband" and never takes his name.

Not everyone believes that there is nothing in a name. Here is an interesting quote from "Anne of Green Gables"  by L.M. Montgomery- "I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage." 

THREE SMILES FOR THE OLD MAN

I am growing old. No, correction, I AM old and growing older every day. 

That brings its own problems. Even if one has no serious issues, fair wear and tear is inevitable. Some pain there yesterday, some pain here today, wrinkles, dry skin, belly fat, visits to the toilet, cataract, hearing loss etc., etc., afflict most old folks. I remember reading a piece by the late Khushwant Singh in his well-read column, "With Malice Towards One And All", that he used to have around a dozen red, white, green pills with breakfast every morning. I laughed a lot then but now I realise I need not much less!

The ailments often lead to misunderstandings. Hearing loss is difficult for youngsters to understand who think one is not paying attention. A 'beg your pardon' from a young person is accepted as normal and the speaker has no problem in repeating what he said. But the phrase is taboo for an old man as it would invite impatience from the speaker and scorn on the oldie’s hearing. To avoid that, old folks often nod their head in agreement with something said though they might not have fully understood it. They are also wary of telephone conversations which too might lead to complications because of lack of comprehension.

A siesta is another requirement of most old folks and is mine too. Often people take it that they are unwelcome if the old man is trying to find time for it.

Unless one is cantankerous, and I do agree that quite a few are, most old folks need patience, sympathy and understanding. This in today's busy and fast-moving world is not an easy ask.

It is with these ruminations that I set out for my evening walk on Shanti Path today. The mind was fairly negative when I saw a policeman coming from the opposite direction. As the cop passed me, he smiled and raised his hand in salute. I was surprised as Indian cops are not usually known for such courtesies. I immediately responded to his salute and smiled back at him.

My mood lifted a bit and I was still thinking about the exceptional policeman when I saw a lad in his 20s on his run approaching me. He too gave me a big smile and nodded in a greeting as he passed by. Wow, what was happening today? Most youngsters are so engrossed looking at their smart watches and timing themselves that they scarcely notice anyone other than a pretty girl.

My walk over, I was climbing the stairs to my apartment in a much uplifted mood when I saw a 3-year old girl accompanied by her mother, ayah and others coming down. The little angel smiled, folded her hands and said a loud 'namaste' to me surprising even the ladies who were with her.

Three big smiles for the old man. God must be in His Heaven and all must be right with the world.

Hip-hip-hip-hooray!!!

AFI 100 YEARS .... 100 SONGS - HEART FILLED WITH JOY, EYES WITH TEARS OF JOY

Another post on songs? Blame it on AFI! 

I hadn't heard of the American Film Institute (AFI) and came across it while reading about 'As Time Goes By' for my post 'Kissa Kiss Ka.' That's how I found the '100 years...100 songs' list. Reading the titles was enough to play them in my mind and fill my heart with joy and eyes with tears of joy. What a memorable list it is with so many evergreens that have been delighting us through the years. 

First a little introduction. In 1998, the AFI started compiling a series of annual lists to celebrate the century of American Cinema. The first list published was '100 Years...100 Movies', maybe we will look at it someday. In 2004, it was the turn of '100 Years...100 Songs'.

Movies were silent to start with and so the songs considered were only from 1930s which contributed 11 songs. The numbers climbed up reaching 18 in the '50s and 20 in the'60s. Then the numbers declined steadily down to only 6 in the '90s strengthening my conviction that the music of my youthful days of '50s and '60s was the best. 

Some other general observations: "Singin' In The Rain", "The Sound Of Music" and "West Side Story" were movies that contributed 3 songs each, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were top composer and lyricist respectively with 6 songs each, Judy Garland and Gene Kelly topped the singers with 5 each although only 2 of Gene Kelly's songs were solo. Julie Andrews, Fred Astaire, Barbra Streisand have 4 each joined by a name I hadn't heard before, Marni Nixon. Little known Marni provided her voice to Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady", Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" and Deborah Kerr in "The King and I".

The oldest song in the list is "Isn't It Romantic" sung By Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in the 1932 film "Love Me Tonight". I do not know that song and the oldest I am familiar with is "Cheek To Cheek" by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the '35 movie, "Top Hat". The lovely first stanza-

"Heaven...I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so I can hardly speak,

And I seem to find the happiness I seek,

When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek".

Topping the 100 is "Over The Rainbow" by Judy Garland from "The Wizard Of Oz" (1939). I saw the movie in School in early '50s screened on a 16 mm projector by our film pro, Father Cosgrove. Sung to perfection by Judy, the enchanting lyrics take you to dreamland-

"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue,

And the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true.

Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly,

Birds fly over the rainbow, why, then oh, why can't I."

After thoroughly enjoying the movie, I remember the walk back home to Hospital Road, Jaipur, with mates Yadu Sahai, Krishen Bhargava, Pramode and Suresh Pareek (not brothers) sashaying across the road singing, "We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz." 

No.2  is the haunting "As Time Goes By" from "Casablanca" (1942). An unforgettable movie with brilliant acting by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Dooley Wilson's rendition of the song made it even more memorable. Some lyrics I can never get over-

"You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh....

The world will always welcome lovers

As time goes by."

"Singin' In The Rain", theme song of the 1952 movie with the same name, is listed in the third place. Gene Kelly sang and tap danced the number wearing his winsome smile. It's a cheerful song with the singer declaring that he has found his happiness again in 'living a life full of you'. 

At number four is a song many would consider to be worthy of no. 1. "Moon River" sung by Audrey Hepburn, composed by Henry Mancini and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, was featured in "Breakfast At Tiffany's" (1961). It was an instant hit and won the Oscar for the Best Original Song that year. Popular singer Andy Williams made it his theme song for his shows. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that it has been used as a test sample to study people's memory of popular songs. Travel buffs love its lyrics which also have a reference to Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn". My friend and colleague Kailash Kohli told me that some years ago, he had sent off his two daughters on a trip abroad giving them air tickets with a card carrying the following lines from the song-

"Two drifters, off to see the world, There's such a lot of world to see."

I might as well continue with the remaining lines of the stanza-

"We're after the same rainbow's end

Waitin' round the bend, my Huckleberry friend,

Moon river and me."

I also have a little story. I was very fond of the song and wanted to buy the record. In 1963, my ship Khukri visited Penang and I spent an afternoon looking for a record shop at the cost of sightseeing. Finally, I met with success and was delighted to buy the 45 rpm disc of Andy Williams' version. On board, I was showing off my new buy to my shipmates when I read the label, 'Made in India'! I was unaware that Polydor had in the meantime, started producing western pop music records in our country.

Number 5 is the popular Christmas song, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" from "Holiday Inn" (1942). Most of us know the words and love to sing it in the Yuletide season, so it needs no elaboration.

At number 6 we have Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's saucy "Mrs. Robinson" from "The Graduate" (1967), the story of the 'mother' of all affairs. Not only was the movie a winner but its music was outstanding and added to the popularity of Simon and Garfunkel. I am disappointed though, not to find "The Sound Of Silence" in the list, probably because it was released independently in 1964 and was included in the movie's soundtrack subsequently.

The list is 100 songs and I have just covered 6. So now, I have to apply the guillotine and cover briefly the ones I really like. I shall also ignore rankings as I feel it is tough enough to choose 100 songs out of thousands and then to rank them is a contentious task.

So we move on to "Stayin' Alive" by the Beegees in the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever" that all of us from Staff College rushed to see in Ooty. Spectacular dancing from John Trovolta and disco music with Barry Gibbs' signature falsetto voice made the movie and its songs immensely popular.

"The Sound Of Music" mesmerised us in 1965 with a thrilling story based on the real life of the von Trapp family. Rodgers and Hammerstein composed and wrote the songs and the list has three numbers from the movie, all by Julie Andrews: "The Sound Of Music", "My Favourite Things" and "Do Re Mi". I have lost count of the number of times I have seen the movie in theatre and on VCR and DVD. I have also been fortunate enough to have taken the fabulous "The Sound Of Music" tour twice in Salzburg.

From other musicals, there is the joyous, "I Could Have Danced All Night"(1964) from "My Fair Lady" performed by Audrey Hepburn on the screen but with the voice of Mani Nixon who could be termed as Hollywood's Lata Mangeshkar! Marni also sang "Tonight" and "Somewhere" for Natalie Wood in the modern Romeo and Juliet like tale, "West Side Story" (1961). Maurice Chevalier's delightful song from "Gigi" (1958), "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" is rightfully there....'for without them, what would the leetil boys do'! And to complete this list, "Some Enchanted Evening" from "South Pacific" (1958) acted by Rosanno Brazzi with the voice of Giorgio Tozzi...'once you have found her, never let her go'.

There are some songs which remind me of our Singapore days of '80s when Ruchir and Shumita were entering their teens and would play music all the time at home. Irene Cara's "What A Feeling" from "Flashdance" and "The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from "Dirty Dancing" are two of them. Both the songs are snappy and captivating and the dancing of Patrick Swayze, who left the world too early, and Jennifer Grey in the latter film, was superb and unmatched.

Title songs from movies include "High Noon" by Tex Ritter (I like the Frankie Laine version better), "The Shadow Of Your Smile" by The Sandpipers, and "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey.

Some other outstanding songs. Celine Dion's highly emotional "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic" (1997) is high on the list and will always bring to mind the scene of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet with outstretched arms on the prow of the ship; one of the best love songs ever. A big favourite of mine is The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" from "Ghost". "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" from "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" by BJ Thomas, "Que Sera Sera" by Doris Day from "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and "Windmills Of Your Mind" by Michel Legrand from "The Thomas Crown Affair " are perennial favourites. To remember my school days and Father Mackessack's singing class, I was rewarded by the list having Paul Robeson's "Ol' Man River" from the 1936 movie, "Showboat"....'I'm tired of livin' and scared of dyin'', but ol' man river, he just keeps rollin' along.'

Some songs not included that I would have liked to see in the list-

A. "Lara's Theme" or "Somewhere My Love" from "Dr. Zhivago", composer Maurice Jarre.

B. Theme from "Born Free", composer John Barry.

C. "I Will Wait For You" from "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", Catherine Deneuve with the voice of Danielle Lican.

D. "The Harry Lime Theme" from "The Third Man" by Anton Karas with its unique zither music.

E. Theme from "A Man And A Woman", composer Michel Legrand.

F. Theme from "Love Story", composer Francis Lai.

G. "We Have All The Time In The World" from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" by Louis Armstrong.

H. "Al Di La" from "Lovers Must Learn" or "Rome Adventure" by Emilio Pericoli. 

J. "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin from "Top Gun".

Am sure you would have your own favourites to add. To get you going, think of "To Sir With Love" by Lulu! 

"So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good night."

 

KISSA KISS KA

When I was in my 20s, the ultimate in a love song was a kiss. The crude desire of "Let's Spend The Night Together" came much later. Early on, The Beatles were content with "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" but later advanced to 'Close your eyes and I'll kiss you' in "All My Loving", asking for just a kiss even while going away for quite a while.

The best 'kiss' song on my list is "Kiss Of Fire". Georgia Gibbs sang it first but the version that I love is Caterina Valente's. Her singing ignited the passion that the lyrics required. Listen to her sing, 'Give me your lips, the lips you only let me borrow, love me tonight and let the devil take tomorrow. I know that I must have your kiss although it dooms me, though it consumes me, your kiss of fire.'

An unforgettable song is "As Time Goes By" from the timeless classic movie "Casablanca". In fact, this song is No. 2 on the American Film Institute's 100 years...100 songs which is a list of the top 100 songs in American cinema of the 20th century. The 'kiss' connection- 'You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh, the fundamental things apply, as time goes by.' Sheer bliss.

Another popular oldie was "It's Been A Long Long Time'. A host of famous singers like Bing Crosby, Perry Como and Louis Armstrong sang it. Some lines, 'Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again, it's been a long, long time.'

Louis Armstrong in his pleasant, cheery way asked for no more than "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" to let his imagination thrive upon that kiss and feed his hungry heart. 'Oh, give me your lips for just a moment, and my imagination will make that moment live...A kiss to build a dream on.' Our Hindi filmmakers were so taken up by this song that they copied it as "Kaisi Paheli Zindgani" for Sunidhi Chauhan to sing in "Parineeta". I must admit Sunidhi sang it very well and the song became a great hit.

Shirley Bassey burst on the music scene in 1959 with "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me". In the song, she starts out with 'I'd like to play a little game with you, a little game especially made for two. If you come close then I will show you how.' But soon the teacher becomes a pupil, 'You kiss so well my lips begin to burn, and I can tell I've got a lot to learn.' This song with its catchy lyrics was a popular number at parties in my younger days.

Don Everly was so stirred by a personal experience that he wrote a song, "(Till) I Kissed You" describing how one kiss could change a life forever. The song was a hit for The Everly Brothers. These lines tell it all:

"Never felt like this until I kissed you,

How did I exist until I kissed you,

Never had you on my mind, now you're there all the time....

Now I can't live without you,

Never knew what I missed until I kissed you, uh-huh,

I kissed you, oh yeah.'

"Sealed With A Kiss" was a song by Bobbie Vinton which probably is out of date because nobody writes a letter these days. But in 1972, it was a romantic thought-

"Though we gotta say goodbye for the summer,

Darling I promise you this,

I'll send you all my love every day in a letter

Sealed with a kiss."

Someone away from his loved one has fantasies of what he will do when he meets her. This is vividly emoted by the group "Exile" in "Kiss You All Over."

"When I get home, babe, gonna light your fire,

All day I've been thinkin' about you, babe, you're my one desire....

I want to kiss you all over and over again,

I want to kiss you all over 'til the night closes in,

'Til the night closes in."

And now, since I am writing this on a Sunday, it is appropriate to end with Melina Mercouri's hugely popular song we were all singing in my youth, "Never On A Sunday."

"Oh you can kiss me on a Monday a Monday a Monday is very good,

Or you can kiss me on a Tuesday a Tuesday a Tuesday in fact I wish you would,

Or you can kiss me on a Wednesday a Thursday a Friday and Saturday is best,

But never never on a Sunday a Sunday 'cause that's my day of rest." 

FLY INTO THE PAST WITH VINTAGE MUSIC IN "ROCKY AUR RANI KI PREM KAHANI'

 

Akhila and I are fond of movies and before the onset of Covid, used to see at least 2-3 movies every month in a Cinema hall. Then, from February 2020 to July 2023, movie watching was confined to TV and our visits to a theatre could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

 

End-July changed that. Suddenly, there were so many movies that had to be seen in a theatre. “Oppenheimer” was the first. A brilliant movie, it will surely land a few Oscars and other international awards in time to come. Next was “Barbie”, an eye-pleasing movie straight out of a doll house. The colour pink is in great demand and the movie is minting money. And the third in that movie crazy week was “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani”.

 

“Rocky And Rani” is an all-round good production with a nice story and great acting. But what is exquisitely appealing about it is the way vintage Bollywood music is used to intertweave two love stories, an old romance of Kanwal and Jamini played by Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi, and the fresh, burgeoning love of Rocky and Rani played by Ranveer and Alia Bhatt.

 

Karan Johar is experienced in this art as displayed in his movie “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” seven years ago. So is Pritam, music composer of  “Ae Dil…” as well as “Rocky Aur Rani” who has said that the music album of the latter is his homage to Hindi film music of the 1960s-70s. The songs chosen by Pritam were all outstanding hits in their time and would blissfully transport people of my generation to those days in a state of nostalgia.

 

Early into “Rocky Aur Rani”, Kanwal, wheelchair confined and suffering from amnesia, comes face to face with Jamini, his week-long lover of 40 years ago, recognizes her, gets up and walks up to her singing ‘Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar’, the unforgettable song from “Hum Dono”, the Dev Anand-Sadhana starrer of 1961. The Mohd. Rafi-Asha Bhosle song with Sahir Ludhianvi’s superb lyrics flowing from desire to desperation was brilliantly brought to the screen by Dev Anand in his typical charming and flirty way with Sadhana as the demure lover in a dilemma to stay or leave before it got too dark. The song is regarded as one of the best love songs of all time. It took me back to my days on the ship Gomati in Bombay watching the movie with my shipmate and friend Jack Suri who perished with Khukri in 1971 and left this world too soon.

 

For “Rocky Aur Rani”, Pritam composed a number, ‘What Jhumka’ which is adapted from the enormously popular song ‘Jhumka Gira Re’ from the 1966 movie “Mera Saaya” also starring Sadhana. People might have forgotten the movie but not the Asha Bhosle song. Mention ‘Bareilly’ or ‘jhumka’ or even ‘bazaar’ and the song comes to mind. Its impact can be gauged from the fact that in 2020, 54 years after the release of the song, a brass and copper ‘jhumka’ weighing 200 kgs was installed on a 14 ft-high pole at the entrance to Bareilly on National Highway 24 and the T-point named ‘Jhumka Tiraha’. Ignoring historical and mythical facts like being the birthplace of Draupadi, Bareilly is now 'jhumka' city thanks to the song.

 

The origin of ‘jhumka’ story dates back to 1941 when Harivanshrai Bachchan first met Teji Suri in Bareilly at a new year's party and both fell in love with each other. Sometime later, the poet Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Mr. Bachchan’s friend, asked if they were a couple. Miss Suri is believed to have said, “Mera jhumka toh Bareilly mein hi gir gaya tha’ thus confirming her falling in love. Mr. Khan recalled this while working for the film “Mera Saaya” and wrote the song ‘Jhumka…’ along with the music composer Madan Mohan.

 

In 1966, I was Flag Lt to Commandant, National Defence College, New Delhi, and Wing Cdr Suchanti was Junior Directing Staff (Air Force). In parties, people would ask Mrs Suchanti to sing a song. With a little persuasion, she would sing and coyly act out the single line, “Jhumka gira re, Bareilly ke bazaar mein, jhumka gira re’. No more, no less! Years later, I was in Wellington doing my Staff College Course and Air Commodore Suchanti was Chief Instructor (Air Force).  Recalling the NDC days, I would urge Mrs Suchanti to sing ‘Jhumka’ and she would charmingly oblige with the same line.

 

‘Yeh Shaam Mastani’ from “Kati Patang” features too. Rajesh Khanna with Kishore Kumar’s voice was in his prime in early ‘70s. In 1972, Akhila and I were in Vishakhapatnam just after our wedding. “Kati Patang” had been running in the naval base cinema for some time when we decided to see it. At the hall, we saw Surg Lt Cdr NP Mukherjee (Doc Mukko), my old shipmate on Gomati, standing at the back with a glass of whisky in his hand. Mukko said his wife was away in Calcutta and although he had seen the movie on the very first day, he had been walking across from the Wardroom nearby for every show just to hear ‘Yeh Shaam…’

 

Then there is ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’. This song from the film “Qurbani” in 1980 introduced the Pakistani singer Nazia Hassan to Bollywood and everyone was fascinated by her singing. We had just moved from Wellington, where I was a Directing Staff, to Delhi and were staying in Kotah House awaiting allocation of regular accommodation. Ruchir was 6 and Shumita 3. One day, we were walking outside when colleague Soli Contractor and his wife Jeroo met us. Soli picked up Shumita and started swaying to the rhythm of 'Aap Jaisa Koi' playing in the background. Now Soli had a bald pate as smooth as a baby’s bottom and Shumita stared it for some time and then started patting it with the beat of the song saying, “Takloo, Takloo”. Embarrassed, Akhila started to admonish her but Soli laughed and Jeroo said Shumita was only stating a fact! 

 

To list a few others, there are romantic ones like ‘Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain’, ‘Pyar Ka Nagma’ and ‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai’ to lighter ones such as ‘Haal Kaisa Hai Janab Ka’, ‘Aaj Yeh Mausam Bada Beyimaan Hai’ and ‘Aaja Meri Gaadi Mein Baith Ja’. Towards the end, ‘Dola Re Dola’ from “Devdas” is used for a kathak dance by Ranveer and Tota Roy Choudhury.

 

All that makes for a melodious journey into the past refreshing sweet memories.