NOSTALGIC MUSIC BANTER

It was the day of the storm.

Rajeev, my cousin, and I had started our afternoon game of golf in bright, hot sunlight. We had played four holes when the sky started turning a muddy grey. A duststorm soon hit us, the one that originated in Bikaner and spread over a large part of Rajasthan. Next day, the papers said that the wind speed was more than 110 kms per hour. We don't know what it was on the golf course but a 200-yard swing was getting us less than 50 against the wind and, with following wind, just a gentle tap of a putt making the ball roll 10 feet past the pin.

Nevertheless, we decided to continue our game and with the weather cooling off, got in a musical mood. Rajeev launched into lines he recalled Vinnie Mama, his father, singing to him from "Annie Get Your Gun", 

'Folks like us could never fuss with schools and books and learnin', 

Still, we've gone from A to Zee, a-doin' what comes naturally.' 

I remembered some lines too-

'My uncle out in Texas, can't even write his name,

He signs his cheques with Xs but they cash 'em just the same.

If you saw my pa and ma,  you'd know they had no learnin',

Still they've raised a family, doin' what comes naturally'.

Still on "Annie",  Rajeev and I indulged in a bit of 'Anything you can do, I can do better, I can do anything better than you.'

Rajeev remembered Vinnie Mama's LP disc of "Oklahoma", the musical that marked the beginning of the success of Rodgers and Hammerstein. I too sought that disc whenever I went to Vinnie Mama's house. It's songs are a pure delight beginning with-

'Oh, what a beautiful mornin', oh, what a beautiful day.

I've got a beautiful feelin', everything's goin' my way!'

Then the shy, romantic "People Will Say We're In Love." First, the hesitancy from the girl-

'Don't sigh and gaze at me, your sighs are so like mine,

Your eyes mustn't glow like mine, people will say we're in love.'

The boy is shy too-

'Don't take my arm too much, don't keep your hand in mine,

Your hand feels so grand in mine, people will say we're in love.'

And then he throws caution to the winds and shouts to anybody who can hear him-

'I want 'em to know that Miss Laurey Williams is my girl!

Let people will say we're in love, starlight looks well on us,

Let the stars beam from above, who cares if they tell on us,

Let people say we're in love.'

The next song truly lays down the framework of love-

'With me it's all er nuthin', is it all er nuthin' with you,

It cain't be "in between", it cain't be "now or then",

No half and half romance will do.'

A word of regret here, I haven't had a chance to see "Oklahoma" on stage.

Not so with R&H's second big hit, "Carousel", the revival of which I saw on Broadway during a visit to New York a few years back. The music was mind blowing topped by "If I Loved You" which in my book is one of the best love songs ever. The characters Billy and Julie are too shy to openly declare their love for each other, so they resort to 'if'! 

'If I loved you, time and again I would try to say,

All I'd want you to know,

If I loved you, words wouldn't come in an easy way,

Round in circles I'd go.

Longing to tell you but afraid and shy,

I'd let my golden chances pass me by.

Soon you'd leave me, off you would go in the mist of day,

Never, never to know, how I loved you,

If I loved you.'

If that doesn't touch one's heart, nothing will!

Another stirring but inspiring song is "You'll Never Walk Alone" featured twice in the play, the second time by the dead, invisible Billy at his daughter's graduation ceremony, 'When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don't be afraid of the dark....Walk on. walk on, with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone.'

Getting back to the present, it struck me that we were in the month of June which in "Carousel" was 'bustin' out all over.' Not quite bustin' in Jaipur but it was pretty springy when it could have been searing hot.

Finally from the musical, the fascinating "Carousel Waltz" which has one pirouetting as I did all the way home while returning after listening to it at New York Philharmonic Orchestra's performance in Central Park a few days after I saw "Carousel".

I recalled another big R&H hit I was fortunate to see on stage; "South Pacific" has a story culled from James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific". Its most popular number was "Some Enchanted Evening", a love song sung by the character Emile de Bacque, a middle-aged person who falls in love at first sight with a much younger woman, Nellie. Emile sings it as a solo, telling himself to 'make her your own, or all through your life you may dream all alone. Once you have found her, never let her go.'

Nellie is confused about the relationship and while having a shower and shampoo, determines to 'I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair'. But you know what happens!

Fun and motherly advice is provided by a native woman, Bloody Mary, who sings of the charm of her native village, "Bali Ha'i".

The storm had blown over as our game continued but now darkness was approaching and for a finale we moved from R&H to Lerner-Loewe's "Gigi". The 1958 movie was an outstanding success and the play I saw on Broadway in 2015, a worthy refresher. Gaston, a grown-up philandering bachelor, pays no attention to Gigi, a precocious, pert teenager he knows from her childhood. Then one day, he suddenly realises that she has grown into a captivating young lady whose charm he cannot resist:

'Oh, Gigi! Why, you've been growing up before my eyes,

Gigi! You're not at all that funny, awkward little girl I knew,

Overnight there's been a breathless change in you....

When did your sparkle turn to fire?

And your warmth become desire?

Oh what miracle has made you the way you are?'

But I will always remember the movie for the debonair Maurice Chevalier's jaunty rendition of "Thank Heaven For Little Girls", 

'Thank heaven for little girls, thank heaven for them all,

No matter where, no matter who, 

Without them, what would little boys do.

Thank heaven for little girls.'

Sunset. Game over. End of banter. Until next game?!

'

LES PAUL AND MARY FORD - FORGOTTEN DUO OF 1950s

When we think of the popular singers of the early '50s, many names immediately spring to mind. We recall Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald who were continuing to add to the fame earned in the '40s while Dean Martin, Perry Como, Doris Day, Patti Page and Eartha Kitt were the new rising stars. Groups such as Andrews Sisters, The Four Aces and Ames Brothers also come in our thoughts.

But how many of us remember a duo which in the early '50s was coming out with hit after hit more frequently than the firmly established contemporaries? Les Paul and Mary Ford were the top recording artistes of those times and in 1951 alone, they sold six million records. In the first half of the '50s, they produced 28 hits with 16 in the top ten out of which 5 were within nine months; remember Tennessee Waltz, Mockin' Bird Hill, How High The Moon, The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise and Whispering? How High The Moon was number 1 for 9 weeks. 

In the next seven months, 5 more hit top ten: My Baby's Coming Home, Lady Of Spain, I'm Sitting On Top Of The World, Bye Bye Blues and Vaya Con Dios which after eleven weeks at number 1, became their theme song in stage and TV shows.

Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers) and Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss) met in 1945 and decided to work together. They got married in 1949 and formed a husband and wife duo. Both were singers and guitarists and Paul an inventor as well. Mary Ford became the chief voice of the duo with Paul providing guitar accompaniment though, in their shows, Mary often indulged in a friendly duel with him on the guitar akin to the 'Jugalbandi' of Indian classical music. Being a technician, Paul concentrated on songwriting and recording techniques. He had Mary singing within six inches from the mic instead of over a foot which was the norm in those days. This provided a more intimate sound to Mary's voice as also a relaxed feel. Paul was also the first to use multitrack recording technique and it is interesting to know that most of the duo's recordings were done in a makeshift studio in Paul's garage with just the two of them.

Unfortunately, differences arose between them resulting in an acrimonious breakup and divorce in 1964. Mary died in 1977 while Paul carried on working in semi-retirement mode and continued to play the guitar. He won two Grammies in 2006 at the age of 90 and passed away in 2009. The two together as a group were awarded a star in the Hollywood Hall Of Fame in 1960 and inducted in the Hit Parade Hall Of Fame in 2009.

And now, 5 of my favourites recorded by them.

Vaya Con Dios (May God be with you or, literally, Go with God) was their most successful song with eleven weeks as number 1 on the US Billboard and on many charts all over the world. It was ranked the No. 1 top tune of 1953 and the second best selling song of the year. In 2005, it was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame and chosen by Western Writers of America as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. People of my generation might not remember Les Paul and Mary Ford but would not forget this song which all of us loved and hummed all the time. Various other versions followed by famous artistes such as Bing Crosby, Jim Reeves, Pat Boone, and Nat King Cole and Julio Iglesias in Spanish but Paul and Mary were unmatched. It's a sad farewell song with the famous chorus lines, 'Vaya Con Dios, my darling, Vaya Con Dios, my love.'

By contrast, I'm Sitting On Top Of The World is a fast-paced, happy song which was constantly on my lips during my Xavier days: ' I'm sitting on top of the world, just rolling along, just rolling along. I'm quitting the blues of the world, just singing a song, just singing a song.'

'World' appears in another of their top songs, 'The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise'. It's a short, romantic number sung in a hopeful way. The lyrics are worthy of a Wordsworth:

'Dear one, the world is waiting for the sunrise

Ev'ry rose is covered with dew....

The thrush on high his sleepy mate is calling 

And my heart is calling you.'

The next two songs have 'birds' in the title. Continuing in the cheerful vein is Mockin' Bird Hill with delightful lyrics:

'When the sun in the mornin' peeps over the hill

An' kisses the roses 'round my window sill,

Then my heart fills with gladness when I hear the trill

Of the birds in the tree tops on mockin' bird hill.

Tra-la-la, tweedle dee dee it gives me a thrill,

To wake up in the mornin' to the mockin' bird trill.'

Humming Bird, though fast-paced, is sad. The singer compares her love interest to a flitting humming bird 'too restless to settle, too wild to tame'. So 'I'd rather be lonely, I'd rather be blue.... I'd rather spend my whole life without you than feather a nest to be shattered apart, by the hum hum of your hummingbird heart.'

Add one for the road! The song I Really Don't Want to Know poses a dilemma: one may wonder about one's lover's past but does one really want to know? 

'How many arms have held you and hated to let you go....

And how many lips have kissed you and set your soul aglow....

So always make me wonder and always make me guess

Even if I ask you, Darlin' don't confess....

How many, how many, I wonder,

But I really don't want to know.'

 

RAMBAGH PALACE - No. 1 HOTEL IN THE WORLD

TripAdvisor, a top tourist company, has rated Rambagh Palace Hotel, Jaipur, as the world's number one hotel in the Travellers' Choice Awards 2023.

For me, Rambagh has always been number one ever since I came to know about the existence of hotels. The Hotel has regularly been winning awards and is spoken of highly by all who have stayed there. To get the highest recognition from a globally renowned tourist company is a remarkable achievement for the Hotel and feels like a personal victory for a Jaipurite that is me.

My first visit to Rambagh was in 1953, 70 years ago. It was not a hotel then but the residence of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. A Tennis tournament was being held there and my schoolfriend, Yaduendra, son of Dr. Durga Sahai, personal physician of the Maharaja, suggested we go and watch a Women's Doubles match in which Maharani Gayatri Devi was playing. That was when I saw the Maharani for the first time. Dressed in sparkling whites from top to toe in shirt, slacks, socks and shoes, the Maharani was the epitome of attractiveness. I don't remember what happened in the match but the face and figure of the Maharani are vividly etched in my mind. She looked like a sprightly 20-year old but actually she was 34 at that time. Not surprising as right up to the end, she was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the world.

The origin of Rambagh Palace dates back to 1835 when a modest garden house was constructed for the wet nurse of prince Ram Singh II. In 1887, it was renovated to serve as a hunting lodge for the Maharaja. Difficult to visualise that what is now the centre of the sprawling city of Jaipur was then the centre of a thick forest! Expansion work to make it fit for a palace started in early 20th century and finally, in 1931, Maharaja Man Singh declared it as his principal residence.

In 1957, the royal family decided to run it as a hotel under their own management. It was only in 1972 that the management was entrusted to the Taj Group which runs it to this day.

The Palace grounds are on 47 acres of land. Apart from the exquisite architecture of the main building, a large portion of it is lush green lawns with beautifully curated gardens. An outstanding feature is the Verandah Cafe and the courtyard overlooking the vast lawn visited frequently by dancing peacocks. When I go there, I am reminded of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: the Hotel provides 'a loaf of bread...a flask of wine', you can carry 'a book of verse' and your own 'thou' in what was once 'wilderness' but is now 'paradise'.

I started patronising the Hotel in the '60s. I had joined the Navy and on my home leaves, used to seek out Yadu and head for the Polo Bar. As the name signifies, the theme is Polo and on display are trophies won by the Jaipur team of yore with the Bar walls adorned with photos from tournaments. A sporting ambience prevails adding to the flavour of the beer.

For a while, my trips to Jaipur dried up as the Navy sent me to distant shores. A revival took place when Ruchir decided to celebrate my 70th birthday at the Rambagh. Akhila and I, Mummy, Ruchir, Shumita and Gaurav, all stayed at the Hotel for a couple of days together with Yogesh and Bharti Deveshwar, Shumita's in-laws. On the birthday evening, Ruchir organised a dinner which a number of our relatives and friends attended. They included Xavier class fellows Abhay Singh and Pranab Roy, the latter also a naval colleague, and schoolmate Prakash Surana.

Now whenever we are in Jaipur, which is quite often, we celebrate all important events like birthdays and anniversaries at the Rambagh. To learn that we have been doing it in the best hotel in the world makes us doubly happy and proud.

KHOYA CHOOHA, PAYA PAHAR

A popular saying in Hindi goes, "Khoda pahar, nikla chooha"- make the huge effort of digging a whole mountain only to find something totally insignificant, a rat! This story is a reverse of that.

In January 1985, when I was commanding the frigate Trishul, the annual 'Pulling Regatta' took place. This is a prestigious event in which all ships of the Fleet vie with each other to win the 'Cock' trophy which, as the name implies, is in the shape of a lifesize rooster. The competition consists of a number of races in a 27 foot boat called 'whaler', which is rowed (pulled) by different teams of a ship such as Seamen, Technical Sailors, Senior Sailors, Officers, and Best Whaler. The overall winning ship is awarded the Cock, proudly hoists it on the main mast and is named 'Cock Ship of the Fleet', signifying excellent team work, exemplary camaraderie and high morale among all on board. It is also considered as a sign of the ship's Captain's leadership qualities and popularity. For example, Admiral Ronnie Pereira's ships always won the Cock during his various commands. Naval folks are familiar with what happened when he was commanding the cruiser Delhi. In the second last race, his team put in a super effort and won by a big margin only to discover that the ship's 'best whaler' crew had mistakenly taken part in the race meant for 'senior sailors'. They were promptly disqualified and completely exhausted for the next race which was actually theirs- 'best whaler'. So Ronnie jumped into the boat himself and cajoled the crew to participate in the race inspiring them to win it. Delhi won the Cock despite getting no points in the race before.

Competing against bigger ships like Vikrant and Mysore and newer destroyers and frigates, old Trishul which had joined the Western Fleet after a long docking period for its 'modernisation', was nowhere in anyone's reckoning for winning the Cock. Quietly working their way up, her boats did well and to everyone's surprise, ended as runner-up after giving a close run to Taragiri, the eventual winner. Admiral Russi Ghandhi, then Chairman, Shipping Corporation of India, who was the Chief Guest, announced a free trip to Singapore on M.V. Chidambaram for the the Captain of Taragiri and his wife. Captain NK Sawhney, Managing Director, Mazagaon Docks, with whom I had developed a good equation while we were jointly getting the ship ready in the docks, was also watching the event. He came up to me and said how happy he was that Trishul had done so well and bowled me over by declaring free tickets for me and my wife on Chidambaram to Singapore.

This was an unexpected surprise and Akhila, who was also present there, and I were thrilled. We came home and announced it to our children with Akhila insisting that we would pay for Ruchir and Shumita who must accompany us.

None of us had passports so, to set the ball rolling, we applied for them. We then initiated inquiries about Chidambaram's sailing schedule to match the dates with our cruise which would have to be in the School summer vacations.

We were waiting eagerly for things to progress when we got the shocking news that a fire had broken out on Chidambaram and the ship was rendered out of commission. This was a huge disappointment to all of us but we were helpless and resigned to our fate. My thoughts went back to the palmist who in my childhood had predicted no foreign visits for me and wondered whether he had some substance in his predictions.

Shortly after, I received a letter from Naval Headquarters appointing me as Defence Adviser, High Commission of India, Singapore. That meant three years in Singapore for the family.

Lost a rat, found a mountain!

THREE FREE TRIPS ABROAD IN THREE YEARS - AN AMAZING HAT-TRICK

It all began in the summer of 1995. Shumita, an avid Channel V watcher at that time, came across a competition which asked viewers the question, “Who is Batman’s sidekick?” The prize was two Qantas tickets to Brisbane and an all expenses paid trip, which included a three-day hotel stay on Gold Coast, and visits to various amusement parks, including the Warner Brothers Studio that had produced the movie “Batman Forever”. 

The answer was a no-brainer, even for Shumita who doesn’t much follow the superhero movies. So she wrote ‘Robin’ on two postcards, one in her own name and the other in Ruchir’s, and posted them to the required address. She then forgot all about it. 

A few weeks later, the home phone rang – all landline those days. Shumita picked it up to hear a foreign female voice at the other end asking for Ruchir. Those days, Ruchir used to write a Forex Watch column for The Economic Times for which he often spoke to foreign economists and correspondents. Shumita presumed the caller was one of them and gave the lady Ruchir’s office number. Before hanging up, Shumita casually inquired what the call was about and was told it was about a competition Ruchir had won. 

Shumita kept the phone down without asking any further questions. It took about 60 seconds for her mind to register that the competition must have been the one she had entered. She first got overexcited, but that emotion was soon overcome by panic as she hadn’t told Ruchir anything about it! She frantically tried to call Ruchir to alert him to the fact that he would get this strange call, and that he shouldn’t tell the caller he knows nothing about it. However, his personal line was busy. She got through on the common line, but was told that he was on another call. A few minutes later, Ruchir called back and Shumita asked him: “Did you win?” The answer was “Yes”. Ruchir had tactfully handled the call from Channel V and a month later, the brother-sister duo were off to Australia for the first time on a holiday by themselves.

They were picked up at Brisbane airport by a chauffeur driven luxury car and taken to a 5-star hotel where the stars of ‘Batman Forever’, including Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman, had stayed. A British woman, who had made the initial calls to Shumita and Ruchir, met them at the hotel and was with them throughout along with the other winners - a girl from Hong Kong and her friend. They were told that there were about 20,000 correct entries out of which two were picked up in a lot. That revived our faith in the lottery system!

A stretch limo was used for the five of them to move around. A highlight of the trip was a drive in the Batmobile used in the movie. But only Ruchir and the other winner could drive it; Shumita who was responsible for the trip was politely asked not to even touch it.

STRIKE ONE!

In the beginning of 1996, as a frequent visitor to the British Council Library, I chanced upon a competition sponsored by British Airways. It invited entrants to write a short poem on what they would like to do on a visit to London. I penned down something and then, in a moment of inspiration, wrote four more and posted the lot – one each for Mummy, Akhila, Ruchir, Shumita and self. And that was that.

Time passed by and one day, a thick yellow envelope arrived at our Som Vihar flat from the British Council. At that time, Akhila was doing some translation work for them, and dismissed the envelope as more work coming her way. Shumita, with plenty of time at her disposal during college those days, decided to open it. She could hardly believe what she was holding in her hands! The letter announced Akhila’s name as the winner of a return ticket to London, along with a 5-day stay in a studio apartment in Hyde Park, London, and two tickets for three days to watch an India vs England test match at Lord’s. 

We felt someone should accompany Akhila and decided on Shumita as she was the only one from the family who had not been to London until then.

A few days after Akhila’s letter was received, another one arrived at our doorstep. This time in my name, declaring me as the winner of a consolation prize: 6 coasters of London landmarks! 

So I was confined to looking at those images while mother and daughter had a gala time staying in the centre of the city in a beautiful apartment, exploring London and visiting Lord’s whenever they felt like it. It so happened that a shipmate of mine, Cdr Randhawa, was at that time Secretary Services Sports Control Board. He got in touch with the manager of the Indian team, Sandeep Patil, who ensured the two ladies were well looked after at Lord’s.

STRIKE TWO!!

About a year and a half later, I read in The Economic Times about a competition in partnership with Delta Airlines where they called for a 10-word caption to complete the phrase: “I like The Economic Times and Delta Airlines because…” The promised prize was an Executive Class return ticket to New York. 

A line flashed in my head: “ET provides me with hottest tips and Delta, coolest trips”. I wrote it down and sent in my entry. Some weeks later, I was contacted by ET and informed that I had won the prize. We hadn’t been to the USA and had not even considered to ever visit it. This was a Godsend and Akhila and I made the trip - win one, go two!

STRIKE THREE!!!

On return, both of us felt that we had now seen the world and our travels were complete. Little did we know that Ruchir, and for some years Shumita, would move to USA and this would be the first of many more trips.

PS1: After the Australia trip, Shumita entered another competition in The Times of India for which the prize was two free tickets to a movie at Priya Cinema and a pair of Pepe Jeans. When she saw her name in the paper, she came bounding out of her room, screaming “In won, I won!” Ruchir asked her with much excitement what was it that she had won. When she said, 2 movie tickets and a pair of jeans, he exasperatedly sighed and said “Big deal!” In contrast to free holidays overseas, it seemed an insignificant prize. 

PS2: We stopped entering competitions after that, giving chances for others to win! My little grandson, Raghav, though, upon hearing these stories, picks up the newspaper regularly now, rifling through for any competitions to enter. 

THE EYES HAVE IT

When you first meet a person, you look at his/her face and then the eyes lock. An impression is created immediately and more often than not, it is strengthened as you get to know the person further. 'Seeing is believing', but the mystery is that though what we see is the same, our eyes interpret it differently. Someone said, "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Very few people see 'eye to eye' unless the trust is so much that one can follow someone with 'eyes wide shut'. 'Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’ and what may be 'love at first sight' for one, for most it is just another sight.

Traditionally and in folk lore, eyes have been associated with character. Brown eyes are supposed to be trustworthy, blue-sentimentality, and, green-creativity and mysteriousness. Metaphorically, the colour of eyes is expressive of emotion: red eyes of rage and anger, blue-love and romance, green-jealousy, and black-deceit. There is also the 'evil eye' which could be cast upon with intense jealousy on someone very successful or hugely attractive. And if you wink at a pretty girl, you could land up with a 'black' and 'blue' eye!

Eyes are a popular subject for songs. Titles of most immediately convey what the songs are about. So Frank Sinatra crooned for his loved one, “I only have eyes for you”, Frank Valli was besotted with love in “Can’t take my eyes of you” and the song in the film “Dirty Dancing” had “Hungry eyes” expressing desire.  Other songs are “Sexy eyes”, “Bright eyes”, “Dark eyes” and Bruce Springsteen's "Hey blue eyes". An old favourite of mine is "Beautiful brown eyes" by Rosemary Clooney in which she expresses her love for brown eyes forsaking blue ones.

Al Martino brought in nationality in “Blue Spanish eyes” while the old traditional song gets the heart stolen in “When Irish eyes are smiling”. Some songs have a deeper meaning like The Platters' "Smoke gets in your eyes" where the singer says that when love ends, it feels like smoke gets in your eyes. Perry Como was at his best in the early 50s in the chart topper "Don't let the stars get in your eyes" warning the loved one that in his absence, she should not be naive and let the moon break her heart but keep it for him when he returns. 

Eyes are popular in Hindi songs too. Way back  KL Saigal complained of agony inflicted by “Do naina matware” while more recently, the Bachchans went to town with “Kajra re, kajra re, kajra re torey naina”. Abida Parveen hypnotised us with her inimitable Sufi song “Chhaap tilak sab chheeni, mohse naina milaike” meaning, 'you have taken away my looks, my identity, by engaging eyes with me.' And there is "Chashme baddoor", the '61 hit of Mohd. Rafi that aims to ward off the evil eye from the lover.

Contrary to what Rosemary Clooney sang, there is a story I heard sometime back. On a late night drinking binge at a stag party, an animated discussion was raging about what the colours of eyes signify. Someone said that brown-eyed women are very unfaithful. One man realizing that he did not know the colour of his wife’s eyes rushed home to check. Finding her sleeping in her skimpy nightie in the darkened bedroom, he pulled out a torch and shone it in her eye. “By God, it's brown,” he yelled. A thoroughly distressed and disshelved person crawled out half-clothed from under the bed mumbling, “How did you know I was here?”

HARRY BELAFONTE - KING OF CALYPSO

 

Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and Civil Rights activist, passed away earlier this week after reaching 96 on 1 March. A legend in his lifetime, he was given the title ‘King of Calypso’ back in mid-50s and also regarded as a ‘folk hero’.

Of Jamaican-American descent, he was born and brought up in Harlem, New York City. In the early ‘50s’, he found his mojo in singing songs with Caribbean flavour and soon became famous and enormously popular. I was in the NDA when many of us got hooked on to his songs and in the ‘50s and ‘60s, no party would be complete without all of us singing his top hits like ‘Banana Boat Song (Day-O) and ‘Jamaican Farewell’.

A versatile artiste, Belafonte was one of very few performers who have won Emmy, Oscar, Tony and Grammy awards including Lifetime Achievement from the last named. He was also inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

His friend, Sidney Poitier, and he were the pioneer successful black actors in Hollywood film industry. While he acted in many films, the one I liked the most was one of his earliest, ‘Island in the Sun’, in which he sings the title song with deep emotion with touching lines like ‘Oh, Island in the Sun, willed to me by my father’s hands, all my days I will sing in praise of your forest, waters and shining sands.’

First and foremost, Harry Belafonte was a singer who gave a huge popular dimension to calypso music. Although the first documented recording of Calypso dates back to 1912 and I fondly remember the Andrews Sisters catchy “Rum and Coca-Cola” in early ‘50s, it was Belafonte who topped the charts with his album, “Calypso”, which in 1954 became the first ever to cross a million sales. That album included the number “Banana Boat Song” which was an adaptation of a Jamaican folk song. The song is also known as 'Day-O', a word repeated many times over and its distinguishing feature. It became one of Belafonte’s signature songs. Some lines-

"Work all night on a drink of rum

(Daylight come and me wan' go home)

Stack banana 'til the morning come

(Daylight come and me wan' go home)

Come mister tally man, tally me banana

(Daylight come and me wan' go home)....

Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch

(Daylight come and me wan' go home)....

Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day-o

(Daylight come and me wan' go home)"

Hits followed one after the other. There was “Coconut Woman” which has the singer extolling the goodness of coconut water. In “Come Back Liza” the singer laments the separation from his loved one wanting her to come back and ‘wipe the tear from me eye’. “Brown Skin Girl” was a protest song against exploitation of the black Caribbean woman by the American where the latter sails away leaving the woman literally holding the baby-

“Brown skin girl, stay home and mind baby,

Brown skin girl, stay home and mind baby,

I’m gonna sail in a sailing boat’

And if I don’t come back, stay home and mind baby.”

Belafonte had a great sense of humour and a number of songs are a testimony to this. In “Man Piaba” he began by dedicating the song ‘to all the parents whose children have reached the age of curiosity.’ Then he went on-

“When I was a lad of three-foot-three, certain questions occurred to me

So I asked my father quite seriously to tell me the story ‘bout the bird and bee,

He stammered and he stuttered pathetically, and this is what he said to me,

He said, ‘The woman piaba and the man piaba,

And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass,

The lily root, gully root, belly root, ugh, 

And the famous grandy scratch-scratch.

It was clear as mud but it covered the ground, 

And the confusion made the brain go ‘round.”

So to further explore, he goes to Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud who add to his confusion with their technical theories. So he finally concludes,

Well, I travelled far and I travelled wide,

And I don’t even have meself a bride,

All the great men upon this earth,

Have confused me since my birth.”

In “Man Smarter Woman Smarter”, he plainly avers that ‘the people they say that the man are leading the woman astray. But I say, that the woman of today, smarter than the man in every way…. You meet a girl at a pretty dance, thinkin’ that you would stand a chance. Take her home thinkin’ she’s alone, open the door, you find her husband home.’

One of the funniest is “Mama Look A Boo Boo”. In it he sings,

"I wonder why nobody don’t like me

Or is it the fact that I'm ugly?....

My children….Mama, look a boo boo they shout,

Their mother tell them shut up your mout’

That is your daddy, oh, no,

My daddy can’t be ugly so.

Shut your mout’, go away,

Mama look a boo boo dey."

A classic children’s song,“There’s A Hole In The Bucket”, was a duet he sang with Odetta. It begins with a simple request from ‘Liza’ to ‘dear Henry’ to go fetch some water. Henry replies, “There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, there’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.” Liza asks Henry to fix it and there’s a long exchange between the two with Henry asking with what he should fix it and Liza giving him directions. For each direction, Henry states something else is required. Liza is progressively losing her cool and eventually they come full circle requiring water again. Henry asks with what he should fetch the water and Liza says exasperatingly, ‘With a bucket, DEAR HENRY, DEAR HENRY, WITH A BUCKET, DEAR HENRY, A BUCKET' only for Henry to reply, 'There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole, THERE’S A HOLE!”

In April 1959, Belafonte performed live in Carnegie Hall. His rendition of “Matilda” there is outstanding and unmatched. He showed what a splendid performer he was when he had the audience rollicking and spellbound exhorting them to sing just one simple line “Matilda, Matilda, Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela” for about 12 minutes in many different ways – ‘Once again now…Sing a little louder…Sing a little softer…Goin’‘round the corner…Sing out the chorus…Everybody’ and so on. Listening to the recording is mesmerizing; exceptionally lucky were the ones who attended the show in person.

On a serious note, in 1984 with most of Africa reeling from a famine, Harry Belafonte thought of making a single disc for raising a relief fund. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie were approached to write the song and the world’s top singers invited to participate. Thus was born “We Are The World”, a historic song sung by Jackson, Richie, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and many more. The song won 4 Grammys, numerous other awards the world over and raised $63 million ($156m in today’s value) for the fund. At 20 million sales, it is the 8th bestselling single of all time.

I have saved for the last another of his signature songs, “Jamaican Farewell”. A few glasses of rum and one would break into the delightful number. Some lyrics have to be recalled:-

"Down the way where the nights are gay,

And the sun shines daily on the mountaintop,

I took a trip on a sailing ship

And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop….

Down at the market you can hear

Ladies cry out while on their heads they bear,

Ackee, rice, saltfish are nice

And the rum is fine any time of the year

But I'm sad to say, I'm on my way,

Won't be back for many a day

My heart is down my head is turning around

I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town.'

Sad to say, Harry Belafonte won't be back on any day.