TEN YEARS AFTER

Ten years ago on this day, I underwent a delicate surgery. The next year, I recorded words of appreciation and gratitude for my dear doctor. I stumbled upon it while going through my files and thought I should put it on my blog. So here it is.

"We had come to visit our son in New York last year when in very early hours of 21 June 2012, I suddenly fainted and was taken to St. Luke’s Roosevelt (now Mt. Sinai) Hospital. It was diagnosed that I had suffered a ‘ruptured left MCA aneurysm’ and was immediately operated upon and admitted in the ICU ward. There I was put under the overall care of Dr. Rup Swarup.

Right from the start, Dr. Swarup took personal care to ensure my speedy recovery and left no stone unturned to make me comfortable and at home. He visited me a number of times every day to ensure my well-being. 

A few days later, it was discovered that I was suffering from Hydrocephalus. The neurosurgeon who had operated upon me felt that I should undergo a shunt implant. Dr. Swarup was of the view that we should wait and watch rather than hurry to put a foreign body in my brain. The neurosurgeon was insistent but Dr. Swarup took personal responsibility for my case and deferred the implant. Meanwhile, he referred me to another neurosurgeon, Dr. Phil Steig at Cornell Weiss, who agreed with Dr. Swarup and suggested to wait and watch. After a fortnight, it was found that the hydrocephalus had subsided and the shunt was not required. The post-operative angiogram revealed that a small residual remained for which Dr. Steig advised a review after six months. I was then allowed to return home to New Delhi.

One year has passed and I have recently had a follow-up examination which showed that I have made a fair recovery and the residual has not grown.

During this period, Dr. Swarup visited Delhi twice and found time to come and see me and inquire after my welfare. On my return to New York for the check-up, he has gone out of his way to organize the examinations and taken personal interest in the results. As regards the residual, Dr. Steig suggested another angiogram 2-3 years hence as he was doubtful that a non-invasive MRI would reveal the residual aneurysm. Dr. Swarup took the stand that if the MRI showed the residual, it could be watched with further MRIs thus avoiding the invasive and radioactive angiogram. Accordingly, an MRI was done which showed the residual thus proving Dr. Swarup right.

My experience with Dr. Swarup has been most satisfying. His advice and diagnosis have always been spot-on. When convinced of his position, he has not hesitated to assert himself by overruling his colleagues. He has prevented my undergoing a shunt implant which I know from some friends’ cases can turn out to be persistently troublesome.

Dr. Swarup’s care, personal involvement and follow-up have been exceptional and well beyond what could be expected from a busy doctor. 

I consider myself fortunate to have been his patient."

Subsequent MRIs have shown that the residual exists no longer.

Tailpiece: Someone told me, "You live in song." Yes, I happily do. And the day makes me recall the musical group 'Ten Years After' singing at Woodstock in 1969, "I'm Going Home."

DRINK TO ME ONLY WITH THINE EYES

Songs and memories, memories and songs.  As Billy sang in ‘If I Loved You’ in “Carousel”, round in circles I go.

I was firmly in the present watching a movie, though I must admit the movie was steeped in the past. It was “Emma” based on Jane Austen’s 1815 novel of the same name about a cocky 20-year old girl whose main hobby was matchmaking for her friends and meddling in their lives. I was enjoying the period costumes and the manner in which people conducted themselves in those days when a song was featured in the movie which transported me back to school in the early 1950s. . 

The song was “Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes” taught to us by Father Mackessack in his music class in St. Xavier's, Jaipur. Its lyrics are from a poem, “To Celia”, written by Ben Jonson and published in 1616. Despite its age of 400 years plus, it retains its charm and appeal.  As recent as 2006, Johnny Cash revived it in a popular rendition.

The words are metaphorical about pure love, emotion and feelings. The poet asks Celia to drink to him with her eyes, that is, give him an engaging look, which would be enough for him to pledge his eternal love. And her kiss within the cup is all that he desires instead of earthly wine or even the nectar of the king of gods. 

That’s enough from me; over to Ben Jonson:

“Drink to me only with thine eyes, and I will pledge with mine,

Or leave a kiss within the cup, and I will not ask for wine.

The thirst that from the soul doth rise, doth ask a drink divine;

But might I of Jove’s nectar sup, I would not change for thine.”

An ethereal song.

A CENTURY OF BLOGS

The Blogspot count says my Beatles blog was the 100th and this is my 101st blog. I differ slightly- the first blog counted by the site was all of three sentences stating who I am and announcing my intentions of starting a blog. The introduction was short because actually I don't quite know who I really am. So I shall treat this piece as my 100th blog.

It is hard to believe. I am no writer. After a few essays in school and NDA, whatever writing we did in the Navy was governed by rules of ‘service writing’ with its official format and phraseology. That left little scope for personal flair. For example, a Commanding Officer (CO), on transfer of an officer, was required to give a very brief summary of his impressions on the latter’s performance on a short form called ‘Flimsy’ which began with the printed line, “The officer has carried out his duties to my….” The usual words that the CO was expected to use to complete the sentence were “to my entire satisfaction”, “to my satisfaction” or occasionally “not to my satisfaction”. I once heard of a CO who used the words “to his own satisfaction” and the whole Navy was full of admiration and “Wah wahs” for this most original piece of writing.

After leaving the Navy and settling down in Delhi, certain naval events like the decommissioning of ships I had served on, Trishul and Vikrant, ignited a desire within me to write about them which I did. The pieces were accepted by newspapers which published them. In 1997, The Sunday Observer Chairman offered to make me its Defence Editor. I worked in that capacity for a few months but there were pressures from certain quarters to publish what they wanted and I decided to quit that job.

Meanwhile, I was reading ‘middles’ in newspapers written by ex-defence officers including my uncle, Cmde Vinnie Sharma. That gave me the idea to pen down my own experiences and anecdotes and the Times Of India and the Indian Express readily accepted them. Two naval veterans in particular liked my 'middles', Vice Admiral RKS Ghandhi and Commodore RS Malia. Admiral Russi Ghandhi who I had never served under and who didn’t know me at all traced my whereabouts and wrote a very appreciative letter. Thereafter, I met him a number of times during my visits to Bombay when he recounted some funny stories of his own.  We then kept in regular touch till he passed away.

On another occasion, I ran into Commodore Randhir Malia during a walk on Cuffe Parade. I introduced myself and his immediate reaction was, “Oh, you are the writer!” He too filled me in with some humorous anecdotes.

I expanded my field to golf, travel and music. Sometime in 2010s, newspapers stopped publishing ‘middles’ and my writings dried up. A number of friends told me to write a book about my life but I didn’t take them seriously wondering who would be interested in it. On a visit to Bombay, Akhila’s cousin, Yogesh, himself a journalist of stature, insisted that I write. When asked ‘what about’, he quoted the example of Alexander McCall Smith who he said religiously penned down 1000 words every day no matter what.

In 2018, Akhila took on the task of researching her family history including two major events, the 1915 robbery by Sultana Daku which ended in the gruesome murder of her grandmother witnessed by her 5- year old father and 2-year old uncle, and the 1946 train accident which killed her elder uncle, Tauji, and Phupaji. She put all that down in a book and also wrote about her early days in Bijnor and family customs and traditions. Watching her, I was inspired to write about my own past and interests. I was firm in my belief that nobody would be interested in a book but why not write a blog? That way, I would be able to pen down whatever I wanted without worrying about publishers, content and whether others found it interesting or not. I would let my close relatives and friends know about it and then have complete freedom to write whatever came to my mind regardless of whether anyone read it or not.

Thus was born ''Ravi's Ruminations'' and as music has been my passion since my kiddie days, I chose to go through my life recalling songs as years advanced. Songs have a strange connect with me: a song flashes some memory within me while an incident brings to mind some song. So I titled my first blog, "Life- A Musical Journey". Response from my well-wishers was good and from then on, I have taken to write about my naval career, nautical stories, golf, travel, movies, music, of course, and whatever comes to mind. With the result that, unbelievably, I have reached a century of blogs!

Tailpiece. Not exactly writing but related to it. In 1996, British Airways (BA) ran a contest asking people to write a short piece on what they liked about London. Off the cuff, I wrote 2 limericks and sent in the entries in Akhila's and my name. The one for Akhila won her a prize of two return tickets, a 4-day stay in a studio apartment in Hyde Park, London, and tickets to a one-day match between India and England at Lord's. As Shumita had not seen London, Akhila took her along and they had a lovely trip. And I won a consolation prize of 6 BA coasters!

Then in 1998, Delta Airlines put out a contest in Economic Times. One had to complete the sentence, "I love Delta Airlines and Economic Times because.....".  I wrote ".....Delta gives me cool trips and ET gives me hot tips." That got me a free business class return ticket to New York. A ticket for Akhila was all that was required for our first visit to the US.

THE BEATLES-THEIR MUSIC AND MANIA

I have posted a number of blogs on music but none so far on The Beatles. The Beatles are right on top of my favourites list and the reason I have hesitated to write about them is similar to what I felt about Lata Mangeshkar: I am in awe of them. But I love them and would like to share my thoughts about them with those close to me who would surely forgive me for any sins of omission.

Anybody who is interested in music and even not so inclined would need no introduction to this phenomenal group. Books have been written on the extraordinary achievements of The Beatles comprising of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The Beatles or the Fab Four, just over or under 20, came into being in Liverpool, UK, in 1960 with Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, and Pete West as the original drummer soon to be replaced by Ringo. For over two years, they were virtually unknown till they caught the attention of the music world on 5 October 1962 with “Love Me Do”, their first recording. They broke up in the spring of 1970. Here is a short summary of their super achievements in less than 8 years:- 

They have been termed “The Most Influential Band of All Time”.

They are considered to be the “Best Selling Music Act of All Time” having sales of over 600 million units worldwide.

Among their records which still stand: 

1. Most singles sold in the UK at 21.9 million. 

2. Most No. 1 albums on the UK chart – 15. 

3. Most No. 1 singles hits on US Billboard Hot 100 – 20. 

4. Most No.1 singles hits in UK – 17.

Time magazine named them among “20th Century’s 100 Most Influential People”.

The London Observer in October 1968 considered them the “Greatest Songwriters Since Schubert”.

The best quote I have come across is from an old, serious journalist, Ian Macdonald – “Anyone unlucky enough not to have been aged between fourteen and thirty during 1966-7 will never know the excitement of those years in popular culture. A sunny optimism permeated everything….The Beatles were at their peak and were looked up to in awe as arbiters of a positive new age in which the dead customs of the older generation would be refreshed and remade through the creative energy of the classless young.”

Lucky for me, I was very much within the age limit!

The innovative quality of the Beatles stood out from the word go. Although John Lennon was basically a guitar player, he used the harmonica for the opening bars of “Love Me Do” and through the song. This made it intensely attractive and satisfying. Another factor listeners liked was that they were their own songwriters and not dependent on outsiders like someone from the US. The outstanding feature of their lyrics was that they were brief and simple yet sweetly intense to please the senses. They were mostly a plea for love, true and pure, content with holding hands or, at most, a kiss.

Like most of their songs, “Love Me Do” lasts just over 2 minutes. Its lyrics-

‘ Love, love me do, you know I love you, I’ll always be true,

So please, love me do, whoa, love me do

(Repeat)

Someone to love, somebody new,

Someone to love, someone like you

(Repeat the first two lines ‘love, love me do….whoa, love me do’ twice)’

That’s it!!

In March ’63 they released an album “Please Please Me” which was the first of 11 consecutive Beatles albums to reach the number one spot in UK. A song from the album, “From Me To You” climbed to the top of the charts starting an unbroken string of 17 British number 1 singles over the next 6 years.

It was the release of “She Loves You” in August ’63 that made Beatles superstars. Innovation in the song: the repeated use of the exclamation “yeah yeah yeah” which became their signature phrase. The song is pure joy and self-satisfying. ‘She’ refers to their female fans while ‘You’ means The Beatles. Some lines-

‘She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah….

Because she loves you, and you know that can’t be bad,

Yes, she loves you, and you know you should be glad.’ 

By October that year, Beatlemania had become a recognized word. Hordes of frantic, screaming girls chased them wherever they went. Beatles gave themselves an exclusive look with smart clothes and shoes and a mop of French styled hair which nevertheless appeared clean and ‘washed’. Their physical appearance inspired frenzy but was friendly and charming. After their performance at the Royal Variety Show on 4 November ’63 which included Royalty such as Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, the Daily Mirror wrote “They’re young, new. They’re high-spirited, cheerful. What a change from the self-pitying moaners crooning their love-lorn tunes from the tortured shallows of lukewarm hearts.” They appeared to have transcended the authoritarianism and class-consciousness associated with the old British and won over everyone from 7 to 70. The Beatles themselves said that the Royal Variety Show turned them from rising stars to household names and darlings of the nation. Their visit to the US next February confirmed their international popularity.

Songs flowed in quick succession. I was a happy-go-lucky bachelor in the NDA in ’64-’65 with plenty of time to listen to their songs. My colleagues and I would get together in the Mess for a drink in the evening which invariably included singing Beatles’ songs. The first of my 7 favourites of that time was the song that won them the USA, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” – 

‘Oh please, say to me, you’ll let me be your man,

And please say to me, you’ll let me hold your hand….

And when I touch you I feel happy, inside,

It’s such a feeling that my love, I can’t hide, I can’t hide, I can’t hide….

I want to hold your hand.’

Another sweet number was “All My Loving”-

‘Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you, tomorrow I’ll miss you,

Remember I’ll always be true,

And then while I’m away, I’ll write home every day,

And I’ll send all my loving to you.’

In the same vein was “And I Love Her”-

‘I give her all my love, that’s all I do,

And if you saw my love, you’d love her too,

I love her….

A love like ours, could never die,

As long as I have you near me….’

“I Saw Her Standing There” was a lively, swinging number with the singer at a dance sighting a seventeen year old girl with a look ‘way beyond compare’. He knows that before too long, he’d fall in love with her. His heart goes ‘boom’ as he crossed that room and held her hand in ‘mine’. They ‘danced through the night and held each other tight’ and ‘I’ll never dance with another, ooh, since I saw her standing there.’ The distinguishing feature of the song was a long drawn out ‘my-eeeeEEEEn’ that made us compete to see who would outlast the others.

“I Should Have Known Better” was softer with distinct guitar strums and harmonica. Some lines-

‘I should have known better with a girl like you,

That I would love everything that you do,

And I do, hey hey hey, and I do….

That when I tell you that I love you, oh,

You’re gonna say you love me too, ohh!’

Next, “Can’t Buy Me Love” and the title says it all:

‘I’ll give you all I’ve got to give if you say you love me true.

I may not have a lot to give, what I’ve got I’ll give to you.

I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love.’

They made a movie titled “A Hard Day’s Night’’ the theme song of which sounded great with a few screaming 'OW's and was, of course, a super hit. 

‘It’s been a hard day’s night, and I’ve been working like a dog,

It’s been a hard day’s night, I should be sleeping like a log,

But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do,

Will make me feel alright, OW.’

Except that those days the third line did not apply to me as I was getting home not to any 'you' but just to a lonely cabin! Felt alright nevertheless.

The Navy kept me on the run but the Beatles were stable as number one. Their second movie “Help” and its theme song were very popular and then came a heart-rending ballad “Yesterday” which I consider to be one of the best of all-time. It’s written and sung by Paul McCartney who said it came to him in a dream and describes the anguish of a lover when things went wrong-

‘Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away,

Now it looks as though they are here to stay

Oh, I believe in yesterday….

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play,

Now I need a place to hide away,

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Why she had to go, I don’t know, she wouldn’t say,

I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday.’

Meanwhile, George Harrison had developed a student-teacher relationship with the sitar maestro, Ravi Shankar. The sitar was used extensively in “Norwegian Wood”, a song with mysterious lines which, it is said, pointed to a secret love affair of John Lennon.

Another unique song was “Eleanor Rigby” with a haunting backing of strings in a classical mode.

Two songs from them were tributes to their favourite haunts in Liverpool, their home town. “Strawberry Fields Forever” was a sweet number sung by John Lennon about such a place in Liverpool. In memory of John Lennon, a prominent section of the Central Park in New York City is named ‘Strawberry Fields’ and has ‘Imagine’ implanted in the centre of a well-designed circle. It is on my walking route whenever I am in New York and I often find an amateur singer or guitarist playing a Beatles number for a small crowd and passersby.

Paul wrote and sang a joyous melody “Penny Lane” which described the street of that name in Liverpool. The distinct feature of the song was a brilliant piccolo trumpet solo by a non-Beatle, David Mason.

Two top favourites of mine were released in ’67-’68. The first was quite a whacky number and maybe that’s why I liked it. “Hello Goodbye” is a song which can be sung to tease someone trying to give you the short-shrift-

‘You say, yes, I say no, you say stop, I say go go go, oh no,

You say goodbye, I say hello, hello hello,

I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello, hello hello,

I don’t know why you say goodbye I say hello.’

And then it launches into a long chorus of ‘Hela, heba, helloa, hela heba, helloa, hela, heba, helloa….’ Crazy but catchy!

“Hey Jude” is right on top of my list. An entrancing number sung by Paul, it was originally thought of as “Hey Jules” and written to comfort John’s son, Julian, following his parents’ divorce-

“And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain,

Don’t carry the world upon your shoulder,

For well, you know that it’s a fool, who plays it cool,

By making his world a little colder.”

Its ‘na-na-na-nanana-nana’ chorus then goes on for a long time making it the Beatles’ longest single. For me, that’s what makes it special.

Another interesting and fun number was “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da”, also written and sung by Paul. By now, I was on Trishul and my good friend and shipmate Roly Lewin and I used to play and sing this song and the ‘na-na-na-na’ refrain of “Hey Jude” so loud that we used to drive the older and more staid officers out of the Wardroom!

In 1967, the Beatles had reached the apex of their career. Their new album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was released and was considered to be the ultimate offering of the 'Summer Of Love' of '67 and the first ‘concept album’. Ten years after it was issued, it was voted by an international panel of critics as the best rock album of all time. A veteran journalist, Langdon Winner, said that driving across the US, he heard it everywhere he went. He wrote that this was “the closest the Western Civilization has come to unity since the Congress of Vienna in 1815.” 

However, all was not well with the Beatles. Differences had started surfacing particularly between John and Paul. George was influenced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to the extent that he took all of them to Rishikesh for a 3 month meditation course; Ringo got fed up and left in 10 days, Paul in 20 days and both John and George also left in about 2 months. Use of drugs was making the songs lose their simplicity and making the music acquire a more complex and psychedelic form. The John Lennon and Yoko Ono affair was causing a diversion and John’s insistence on Yoko’s presence in the studio for recording sessions was not appreciated by others.  In fact, John himself said that they were no longer performing as Beatles but increasingly as John and the Band, Paul and the Band and George and the Band. To add to their problems, Brian Epstein, the manager who had led them to unparalleled success, passed away leaving them shattered.

In the midst of all this, John wrote a song, “Ballad Of John And Yoko”, chronicling the events leading to their wedding. He requested Paul to record the song with him and Paul, disregarding their differences, readily obliged. This song, without George and Ringo, went on to become their 17th and final number one in UK.

It is truly amazing that with all the tension and bad blood between them, they were able to successfully record their last two albums, “Abbey Road” and “Let It Be”, which were released in September ’69 and on 8 May ’70 respectively. Both hit the number one spot and are among the bestselling albums of all time.

“Abbey Road” included captivating numbers like ‘Come Together’ and ‘Here Comes The Sun’ but the best was George Harrison’s ‘Something’. No less a person than Frank Sinatra called it the ‘greatest love song of the last 50 years’. The song became extremely popular and was later recorded by various well-known artistes. Some of its memorable lines-

'Something in the way she moves, attracts me like no other lover....

Somewhere in her smile she knows, that I don't need no other lover....

Something in the things she shows me,

I don't want to leave her now....'

Their swan song album, “Let It Be” had the emotional title song which was a tribute to Paul’s late mother. Another appealing number was “The Long And Winding Road”. Finally, the last song for the album was to be titled “The End” signalling their breakup. However, they agreed to delay the announcement of the split and finished with “Get Back” which had the lines, ‘Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged.’

Unfortunately, the Beatles never did!

A compilation of their number one singles in the UK and US simply titled “1” was released on 13 November 2000 to mark the 30th anniversary of their break-up. That album topped music charts worldwide and sold 31 million copies. It remained number one on music charts of most countries all over the world for 6 years and is still in the top 100 in UK, US and Ireland. The album has been revised to include some more songs and till October 2019, was the bestselling album of the 21st century in the US with a sale of 13 million copies.

The world is alive with the sound of Beatles. 

BEST OF SHAMSHAD BEGUM - STAR SINGER OF YESTERYEAR

A couple of days ago, my friend Arun Sehgal sent me a list of 10 songs of Shamshad Begum compiled by a music journalist; Shamshad Begum, my favourite lady singer of Hindi songs in my growing up years. While I generally concurred with the list of the journalist, I needed to tweak it a bit to make my own. 

First, a few facts about this great singer honoured by our government with Padma Bhushan in 2009. She lived to the age of 94 and passed away on 23 April 2013, exactly 9 years ago. She sang more than 6000 songs in different Indian languages including around 1300 in Hindi, nowhere as many as Lata Mangeshkar, but still a considerable number with outstanding hits. Apart from being one of the first playback singers in Indian movies, she is reputed to have been the highest paid female singer from 1940 to 1955 and again from '57 to '64. In her heydays, she was the preferred singer of top music composers like OP Nayyar and Naushad. It is said that when Lata started singing, she was asked to follow the style of Shamshad as in the song that made Lata famous, 'Ayega Aanewala' in 'Mahal'.

Married at a young age, she was completely devoted to her husband who unfortunately passed away in 1955 in an accident when Shamshad was in her prime. That broke her heart and she gave up singing for 2 years which provided Lata an opportunity to reach for the top spot. Shamshad did make a return in 1957 only to go into self retirement in 1965.

On to my choice of her songs. We begin with the funny number of 1946 vintage, "Meri Jaan Sunday Ke Sunday", that Vinnie Mama and I had designated as our 'anthem'. Vinnie Mama was in his teens studying in Allahabad University and I was in single digits having just started schooling in Bharatpur. The song is a duet with the male imploring the girl to visit him every Sunday with lure of 'ande', whisky and brandy, and promises of taking her to London and Paris. Shamshad, singing as the girl, would have none of it and tells him to 'Bhaag yehan se dur' as her 'Baba' is a 'Kashi ka Panda' and her husband is a 'Pehelwan' capable of effectively wielding the 'danda.' 

The next one is comic too: "Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon, kiya hai vahan se telephoon, tumhari yaad satati hai, jiya mein aag lagati hai." This song, from a '49 film'  was also a duet with the composer, C Ramchandra, as the male singer.

"Saiyyan Dil Mein Aana Re, aake phir mat jaana re, chham chhama chham chham" was sung for the dancing Vyjanthimala in the film "Bahar". It is a happy, lively number.

The Begum and Lata Mangeshkar did a number of duets. One of the best is their last one together in "Mughal-e-Azam" titled "Teri Mehfil Mein Kismet aazma kar hum bhi dekhenge". The song is performed as a qawwali with Shamshad providing the voice for Nigar Sultana.

Shamshad sang two delightful numbers in Dev Anand's "CID", a '56 release. "Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana" was a mischievous solo while "Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar" was sung with Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle in a sweet, light vein.

Around the same time was another playful song in "Aar Paar", a '54 movie. The song was "Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar Laage Teere Nazar". Continuing in the same spirit was "Reshmi Salwar Kurta Jaali Da" in "Naya Daur" of '57.

Lest we think she only sang light songs, there were sad ones too like "Ek Tera Sahara" in "Shama" in '46, and perhaps the saddest, "Chhod Babul Ka Ghar, mohey pee ke nagar aaj jaana para" in "Babul" in 1950. The song is a tear-jerker describing the feelings of a bride leaving her parents' house and childhood friends for the first time after marriage.

To her credit is her popular Holi song, "Holi Aayi Re Kanhai", sung in "Mother India". It is of further significance as the movie marked her return after a two-year hiatus because of her husband's demise.

For a personal favourite, it is back to Bharatpur and 1946 for "Anmol Ghadi" and Shamshad's lovely song, "Udan Khatole Pe Ud Jaoon, tere haath na aaoon", a flight of fancy on a flying machine.

I love songs about 'bachpan' (childhood) and so I shall close my list with "Bachpan Ke Din Bhula Na Dena" from the popular film "Deedar" of 1950. The song has two versions and I relate to the first one sung together by Shamshad and Lata Mangeshkar for two kids, former for the boy and latter for the girl. The lyrics are touchingly sweet with the children singing that though they have a long life's journey ahead, they should traverse it happily with song, laughter and love and never forget their childhood days. The song is filmed with the kids on a horseback and the clop-clop of hoofbeats provides a most pleasing accompaniment to the singing. 

 

12 MEMORABLE SONGS BY FEMALE SINGERS

Comfortable in intimate surroundings and in close proximity of my School in Jaipur, who can blame me for indulging in some musical nostalgia. So here goes my pick of 12 songs by female singers, generally in chronological order.

The first one has to be Judy Garland's "Over The Rainbow" which is just one year younger than me. I don't know if I heard it in my infancy but a definite memory is from Father Cosgrove's screening of "The Wizard of Oz" in School in early 1950s. A timeless classic, the song takes us to a child's dreamland. Told by her guardian aunt to go find a place where she won't get into trouble, Dorothy (Judy Garland) starts walking with her dog, Toto, fantasising about a place which is far far away, not where you can get by boat or train, but 'somewhere over the rainbow, way up high....birds fly over the rainbow, why then, oh, why can't I.'

I became a Doris Day fan listening to her on Radio Ceylon in my schooldays and beyond as she kept coming up with hits after hits such as "Secret Love" and "Que Sera Sera", a song loved by children of all ages! But I will always remember her for "This Is Beautiful Music To Love By." An enchanting song, it is the right piece to play when in a romantic mood. Put it on, take your partner in your arms and gently waltz away into the night.

The '60s brought up a whole new crop of singers and one of them was Nancy Sinatra, a chip of the old block. My top song by her was ''You Only Live Twice", composed by John Barry as the theme for the James Bond movie. After much deliberation, he decided that Nancy should sing it.  John Barry's lush orchestra provided a distinctive opening with violins, French horns and strings setting the stage for a smooth entry by Nancy to deliver a touching, melancholic song. The intriguing lyrics speak of love as a stranger that involves a danger which must not be thought of, else the stranger would be gone.The lover 'must pay the price, make one dream come true, you only live twice'. The song became Nancy's top hit. 

Shirley Bassey burst into fame in the late '60s though her popularity lasted much longer. She was a favourite with John Barry who gave her a record three James Bond themes in ''Goldfinger", "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker". She had so many hits that it is difficult to choose one but I'll stick my neck out with "Never Never Never'', the English version of the Italian hit titled "Grande Grande Grande". In her captivating style, Shirley casts a spell on her listeners with her 'Love you hate you, love you hate you' conundrum, but 'Whatever you do, I'll never, never, never want to be with anyone but you.'

For most of us, Mary Hopkin was a one-hit wonder but that one number made her unforgettable."Those Were The Days" was a bittersweet song recounting the passage of time from 'where we used to raise a glass or two' and 'laughed away the hours and think of all the great things we would do' to 'then the busy years went rushing by us, we lost our starry notions on the way' and finally 'tonight....nothing seemed the way it used to be, in the glass I saw a strange reflection, was that lonely woman really me?' Harsh realities of life!

For sentimental songs, the French singer, Francoise Hardy, was one of the best. Pretty and seductive with an anxious voice, she would make a hole in your heart with her melancholic ballads. She was her own songwriter which might be the main reason why she could put the right emotion in her singing. For me, the song never to forget is ''Will You Love Me Tomorrow":

'Tonight you're mine completely, you give your love so sweetly,

Tonight the light of love is in your eyes, But will you love me tomorrow?

Is this a lasting treasure, or just a moment's pleasure....

Do tell me now and I won't ask again,

Will you still love me tomorrow.'

On to the next song on my list- oops, just realised I am jumping a decade. The last few songs were from the '60s and the next is from 1981. Perhaps the '70s were dominated by groups such as ABBA, Boney M and The BeeGees, leaving new soloists far behind. So the next number I have from a female vocalist is 'Memory' from the '81 musical "Cats". The pedigree of the song is in a class by itself- music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Trevor Nunn based on poems of the famous T.S. Eliot. The original show had Elaine Paige singing the song as the climax in the musical. Later, Barbra Streisand came up with her remarkable version. The lyrics tug at the heartstrings and while it would be too long to reproduce the entire song, I must quote two stanzas:

'Memory, all alone in the moonlight, I can dream of the old days,

Life was beautiful then, I remember the time I knew what happiness was,

Let the memory live again.

Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise, I must think of a new life, and I mustn't give in,

When the dawn comes, tonight will be a memory too,

And a new day will begin."

Next year, Laura Branigan sang "Gloria', a number adapted from Umberto Tozzi's Italian superhit with the same title. Laura's English version was an instant hit and became her signature tune. It is a fast paced, catchy tune designed to get you in a swinging mood though its lyrics are complex and not happy. Different interpretations have been given to its lines but the most accepted one is that of a woman whose looks have withered though she thinks she is still beautiful and everyone is lusting after her. She is becoming desperate for a stable relationship and could be heading for a breakdown as the line repeated four times in the song implies, 'Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?' Little did Laura know that in her own head she was developing cerebral aneurysm to which she would succumb in her sleep at the age of 52.

Sinead O'Connor gave her all in the deeply emotional number, "Nothing Compares To U". Listening to her and watching her passionate performance on video, one gets the feeling that she is actually suffering a heartbreak. In the song written by Prince, Sinead takes us through the torment of losing her lover '7 hours and 15 days' ago trying all means to move on but continuing to miss him ' 'Cause nothing compares to you'.

An all-time romantic classic was featured in the movie "Titanic"with Celine Dion's fabulous "My Heart Will Go On". The song provided the perfect background for the burgeoning love of the characters played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. The enchanting scene of the two in a close embrace with arms outstretched on the bows of the ship will remain etched in our minds for a long, long time.

Being an old-timer, present day singers don't move me much. Even Billie Eilish's award winning theme song from "No Time To Die" left me cold. There is one song though that I chanced upon recently that I would put on the same pedestal as the ones mentioned above and that is "One Moment In Time'. Originally a Whitney Houston hit, I love the passion and energy the Belgian singer Dana Winner puts into her version. Its lyrics are truly touching:

'One moment in time, when I'm more than I thought I could be,

When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me.

Give me one moment in time, when I'm racing with destiny,

Then in that one moment in time, I will be, I will be free.'

And now, I go more than 70 years back in time to round up my list with the Caterina Valente tango, "Kiss Of Fire". I used to sing this song as a 13 year old before quite knowing what the word 'kiss' meant let alone 'kiss of fire'! But the passion with which Caterina sang, it could leave one burnt and smoldering:

'Just like a torch you set the soul within me burning, I must go on, I'm on this road of no returning,

And though it burns me and it turns me into ashes,

My whole world crashes without your kiss of fire....

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 ,

The kiss of fire.'

Really!

DELHI GOLF CLUB AND ME - A TALE PARTIALLY UNTOLD

The DGC Open tournament was held at the Delhi Golf Club over the last weekend of March. Like many times in the past, I went to see the action on the final day. While following the players on familiar grounds, memories of my association with the Club flashed through my mind.

I have been familiar with the DGC for almost as long as I have been playing golf. I had taken up the game in NDA Kharakvasla end-1964 at the insistence of my friends Lalit 'Tiger' Talwar and Subodh 'Guppy' Gupta under the tutelage of the inimitable czarist pretender, Dimitry 'Dimmy' Jouralov. Soon after, I was transferred to Delhi and applied for membership of the DGC. A short interview with the Managing Committee headed by Major General Virinder Singh and I was a member in September 1965. There were very few golfers in those days and I remember many games played in solitude without objections from anyone. At times, I could find someone looking for company as, on one occasion, a smart, dapper looking Air Vice Marshal Ranjan Dutt decided to join me. He was impeccably attired and, looking not too pleased with my golf equipment, asked me to get myself some shoes and a dozen gloves from abroad. How and at what cost was left for me to figure out.

The first major tournament I watched was the 1966 Indian Open. The inaugural Open in 1964 was played at the DGC and was won by the great Australian Peter Thomson. The next year, the tournament was played in Calcutta and Major PG 'Billoo' Sethi, an amateur, was the runaway winner with a score of -10, a lead of 7 over the British professional, Guy Wolstenholme. Incidentally, to this day, Billoo Sethi remains the only amateur to have won this tournament.

The Open returned to Delhi in '66 and we were all waiting for it anxiously what with Peter Thomson coming back to take part facing the red hot Billoo Sethi and other famous professionals mostly from UK. On the final Sunday, it looked as if the home crowd was going to be delighted with the result. Billoo Sethi and Peter Thomson came to the 10th tee with the former leading by 2 strokes. Both were on the green in two on the par 4 hole with Billoo lying just 15 feet level with the hole while Peter was about 50 feet away at the bottom of the green with an up-slope to manoeuvre. The crowd was secretly hoping for Peter to 3-putt and Billoo to make a birdie and extend the lead to 4. But we hadn't reckoned with Peter's capabilities which made him win the British Open a record 5 times; he made the huge birdie putt which must have shaken Billoo because he scrambled for a bogey. Lead neutralised! Peter continued with his magic making 4 birdies in the next 5 holes and eventually emerged winner by 6 strokes.

I was continuing my golf at the Club and had Flt Lt (later Air Marshal) KC 'Nanda' Cariappa as my regular playing companion. Nanda had been taken prisoner of war when his plane was shot down in the '65 war. On release, Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh took him as his ADC. I was Flag Lieutenant to the Commandant National Defence College, Air Marshal L Rajaram, and Nanda and I used to meet at all Air Force and Defence Services' functions. Both being fond of golf and members of DGC, we naturally started playing together.

Through the year, there were many amateur tournaments to witness at which the prominent figures were Billoo Sethi,  Ashok Malik and my favourite player in those days, Rajkumar 'Pit' Pitamber. With Ashok's father, the respected HS Malik keeping a benevolent eye on all, a new crop of young golfers was emerging consisting of Vikramjit Singh, Manmohan Singh and Manjit Singh. The last named is presently the President of the Club.

I was transferred out of Delhi in early 1967 but never lost the chance to play at the Club whenever in Delhi. In particular, I remember a smooth round of 9 over with 9 pars and 9 bogeys at the Services' Championships in '69. I had two postings in Delhi, '75-'76 and '80-'82, during which I made good use of the Club. 

In 1989, I left the Navy and settled down in Delhi. That has given me the chance to watch a number of Indian Opens at the DGC. I was a witness to Ali Sher making history in 1991 by becoming the first Indian professional to win the Open. He repeated this feat when the Open returned to Delhi in '93 after the previous year in Kolkata. Meanwhile, the golf bug had bitten Ruchir who took up Ali Sher as his coach. That gave us a chance to play with the champion many times.

In 2008, I was there when Shiv Chawrasia was hoisted on the shoulders of fellow Delhi caddies who went wild with delight on his winning the only Indian Masters held so far. For this Championship, my friend and neighbour, Champika Sayal, one of the organisers of the tournament, invited me to be one of the Marshals, an offer I quickly accepted as it gave me an opportunity to closely follow some famous players like Ernie Els, Thomas Bjorn, Graeme McDowell and Mark O'Meara in action. All the more remarkable for Shiv Chawrasia to have beaten them all!

DGC has proved to be a good hunting ground for Shiv Chawrasia who won the Open there in 2016. Thereafter, the Course underwent a major overhaul and redesign by one of the best golfers of all time, Gary Player, also known as the Black Knight because of his craze for always playing dressed in black which was odd considering that Gary was a supporter of apartheid in his younger days. The Course was readied in time for the 2022 Open and the 86-year old Gary Player was not only present at the opening but also played a couple of rounds.

Back to the finals, I was walking with the last threeball consisting of the Indian Ajeetesh Sandhu and two Thai players, Nitithorn Thippong and Settee Prakongvech. Going into the last round, Thippong was leading Ajeetesh by two strokes with the other Thai a further stroke behind. By the 16th hole, Ajeetesh had turned the tables leading Thippong by two strokes and it looked as if we would have an Indian winner. On the short par-3 17th hole, however, Ajeetesh's tee shot found the bushes and he dropped two strokes. Lead blown and both were even now. All three scored birdies on the par-5 18th resulting in Ajeetesh and Thippong ending up tied while Prakongvech remained one behind to settle for third position. For the two tied players, it was back to the 18th tee for the sudden death playoff. Thippong made a perfect drive but Ajeetesh found the bushes again and lost the hole by a stroke thus losing the trophy to Thippong and ending runner-up.

Now for the untold part of my story. I have written about my DGC association earlier too and have been asked by some why I am not seen on the Course or the Club now. Therein hangs a sorry tale.

My membership was active till end-1982 when I had a tiff with the then Secretary who was actually a friend of mine. In my life, there has hardly been any act of mine which I have regretted subsequently but here is a rare one. In a senseless huff, I sent the Secretary a letter resigning my membership. The resignation was based on two wrong premises; one, that the Secretary being a good friend would not take any action on my letter without asking me to reconsider; two, by that time I was 50% sure that I would be leaving the Navy soon and would settle down in my hometown of Jaipur and not Delhi. 

As it turned out, I was wrong on both counts. Firstly, the Secretary processed my letter forthwith and secondly, though I did leave the Navy, I was offered a job in Delhi and fetched up there!

In 1989 when I came to Delhi to take up my civilian job, I met Mr. Sankaran Nair, ex-President of DGC and High Commissioner in Singapore when I was the Defence Adviser there. He was fond of me and we had got along well in Singapore and played a lot of golf together. I told him my golf story and he said he would see if something could be done. He spoke to some members of the Committee and asked me to speak to a few others at the end of which Mr. Nair expressed optimism that the membership would be restored at the next Committee meeting. 

However, it was not to be. Unfortunately, a couple of blacklisted members who had been stripped off their membership for disciplinary reasons contrived to combine their cases for restoring membership along with mine. When the matter was put up in the meeting, a prominent member and past President, Mr. Dharma Vira, expressed his indignation at the blacklisted members trying to effect a backdoor entry and the item was summarily rejected without considering my case at all.

Apart from the fact that the two other cases were unjustified and should not have been clubbed with mine, the major irony was that the one member both Mr. Nair and I overlooked to speak to was Mr. Vira. With common roots in Bijnor, Mr. Vira was a very good friend of my father-in-law and if we had apprised him of my case, the outcome might have been different.

For a long time, I rued my decision to resign the DGC membership and felt bad speaking about it. Over the years, however, I have come to terms with it and am now content with playing at the Army Golf Course (AGC) which, I am glad to say, has progressed very well. Of course, as far as the golf course itself is concerned, it does not have the space or finances to compete with the DGC. But its bar, restaurants and the party venues are second to none. While the DGC sitting spaces open up only to the south-west, the rooftop of the AGC Clubhouse gives a 360* view of the lush greenery all round. With a band playing on weekends and moonlight to boot, one can have a memorable evening at the Club 'With a flask of wine, and thou beside me singing in...paradise enow'.

I could have had the best of both worlds though!