REMEMBERING MADAN SAXENA - NAVY'S RAVI SHANKAR

As a kid, and even in advanced age, I was very fond of the fun puzzle "Connect the dots". One began at the start point and went from dot to dot ending with a complete picture.

Memory is like that - something triggers it and then you move from one memory to another till you end up with a whole picture of someone or something that was a part of your life. 

So it was when Shumita said she and her family planned to go to Cochin (for me it will always be that!).

Oh, that's where Sameer is!

Just the other day, on learning that Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena had taken over as Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Command, I had sent him a congratulatory message and got back a sweet reply. Sameer is the son of my senior colleague Late Commodore Madan Saxena who though seven courses my senior, was a close friend, in fact, more of an elder brother.

In fact, we had an older association with the Saxena family; Madan's father was well known to Pitaji, my Nana, since both started their judicial careers in the state of U.P. (United Provinces in the old days) and ended up as High Court Judges, Pitaji in Rajasthan and Justice Saxena in Allahabad.

And before I met Madan, his elder brother, HML Saxena, also a naval officer and known by all as 'Bhaisahib' thanks to Madan, was our Training Officer on the Cadet training ship Tir which we embarked fresh after passing out from the National Defence Academy.

I got to know Madan in June 1965 when I came to Delhi as Flag Lt to Admiral Chatterji, Commandant National Defence College. Madan then was 'Flags' to Admiral Soman, Chief of the Naval Staff. We met  very often both being aides to the two most senior officers of the Navy.

Those tenures over, our appointments took us to different spheres till we found ourselves together on Vikrant in November 1971. Madan was the Navigating Officer of the ship and I was Fleet Communications Officer on the staff of Flag Officer Commanding the newborn Eastern Fleet, embarked on Vikrant. As chance would have it, Bhaisahib was there too as Commander, second-in-command of the carrier.

Within a month of my embarking Vikrant, the Indo-Pak War started and, with our jobs requiring us to be together on the Bridge a lot, I developed a close bond with Madan. It was then that I learnt of his fondness of and proficiency at playing the Sitar. A particular incident is vivid in my mind; one early morning, one of our escort ships reported a submarine contact and we were at action stations for a long time. The threat was over at about 6 a.m. and Madan asked me to come along to his cabin. There he pulled out his sitar and played for an hour to calm and soothe ourselves before adjourning to make up for the disturbed sleep. 

Soon after the War, I decided to get married to Akhila in Bijnor, near Delhi. I requested Madan, then in NHQ, to join the baraat and he readily agreed and came along.

Some years later, Madan was appointed as the Naval Attache, Iran. A Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Jamboree was scheduled in Teheran and Mummy was deputed to lead the Rajasthan Contingent. We were a bit worried as this was Mummy's first trip abroad and further, she was a staunch vegetarian. I got in touch with Madan who kindly offered to look after her. Mummy stayed with Madan and Hema and was full of praise for them on return. 

The early 1980s found both of us in NHQ Delhi staying in the same Sardar Patel Marg block, Madan on 3rd floor and I on 5th. Hema and Akhila got on very well too and we often got together in the evenings for musical sessions and a drink. But I missed a super session they once had which Akhila recounted to me. I was away in Italy on work when Vinnie Mama and family came to Delhi for a short visit and stayed at our flat. Akhila invited Hema and Madan for dinner after which Akhila asked Madan to get his sitar. Vinnie Mama launched into Pankaj Mullick songs with Madan accompanying on the sitar. Akhila volunteered to play the tabla and sang too going well into sunrise. Akhila said her hands were sore for days after that!

Madan shocked all of us when he announced that he was seeking premature retirement. A number of senior officers told him that he was certain to be promoted to flag rank but he remained firm and put in his papers. I guess frequent transfers and relatively meagre pay of those days made him take the hard decision. So off he went in 1983 and joined the Merchant Navy with Hema settling in Noida.

I too moved to Delhi, Noida and back to Delhi after my own retirement and we met Madan and Hema often over the years. And then the final surprise: one morning mid-2008, Madan had a cardiac arrest and passed away suddenly at the age of 74.

We shall always remember Madan plucking away his sitar strings and now his absence tugs our heartstrings. 

"IN THE MOOD"

 

Today, let's get "In the Mood."

Before you get fancy ideas and start making wild guesses, let me clarify: I am only recalling a classic song which is just one year younger than me, a popular jazz swing instrumental by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra which has been inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame as also the US Library of Congress National Recording Registry among recordings considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Add to that its inclusion in the US National Public Radio in its list of "The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century" and you know we are talking of something special.

I am not a big jazz fan but this swinging number grabbed my attention from my first hearing of it and keeps buzzing in my head from time to time. Trombones, saxophones, trumpets and clarinets accompanied by drums combine to blow out a catchy rhythm which has one dancing or at the very least, gleefully tapping one's feet.

A few words about the great Glenn Miller. He was a bandleader, composer and played the trombone. He led an Orchestra which was the best-selling recording band from 1939-42. In this short period of 4 years, he scored 16 number one records and 69 top ten hits, more than Elvis Presley (40) and The Beatles (35). In 1942, he volunteered to join the US Navy but was rejected. Despite his Orchestra's outstanding success and rich earnings, Miller was bent on joining the military and finally his efforts succeeded when he was accepted by the US Army in September 1942. Shortly after, he formed the Captain (later Major) Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra which was the forerunner of big military bands. Deservedly, Glenn Miler is considered the father of modern US military bands. 

Glenn Miller's Orchestra entertained troops during World War II for more than two years before Miller went missing in action in the English Channel on a flight from England to France on 15 December 1944 and was eventually declared dead. That marked the end of a superb musician who had accomplished so much in a short span of just 40 years of life. His recordings continue to entertain us and keep us "In the Mood."

Lyricists and singers brought out vocal versions of the song but none could match the brilliance and popularity of Glenn Miller’s instrumental. He was wise to let his band play the music and leave it to listeners to get in the mood they desired.

To conclude, however, let's choose a number that is more definite on ‘mood’: "I'm in the Mood for Love". First sung by Frances Langford in a movie in 1935, it has many versions by dozens of fine musicians like Louis Armstrong, Vera Lynn and Fats Domino. Its plain message - "I'm in the mood for love, simply because you're near me, funny but when you're near me, I'm in the mood for love."

 

"YOU ALWAYS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE"

What song shall we talk about today? 

I have something haunting me for the last couple of days, why, I don't know. I guess some songs touch you deeply right from the time you first hear them and stay with you throughout your life. The song I am talking about has its title from an old saying, ''You Always Hurt The One You Love", and has its origin way back in 1944 when The Mills Brothers sang it. It is one of the oldest songs I know from the days I first started listening to English songs in my early teens but I remember it as if I had heard it just yesterday.

Is the saying true? It would seem so. Most of us probably have on occasion said something which deeply hurt someone we are very fond of making us regret our words and wanting to take them back. 

So why did we say them in the first place?

That is one for the psychologists! But for an ordinary person like me to briefly ponder, I would say that intimacy or familiarity is the main cause: you feel that while you would weigh your words very carefully when talking to people you are not very close to or not care much for, you can open up and say anything to someone you love and that person would listen to you and not mind. But the loved one may construe the words as offensive, prying or unnecessary criticism and feel hurt. Consequence: something far from what you originally desired!

So now let me do your own thinking and leave you with lyrics so thoughtfully written by Allan Roberts and movingly sung by The Mills Brothers:

"You always hurt the one you love

The one you shouldn't hurt at all

You always take the sweetest rose

And crush it till the petals fall

You always break the kindest heart 

With a hasty word you can't recall

So if i broke your heart last night

It's because I love you most of all."

DEAR SWEETS OF JAIPUR

 

It's that time of the year when India's tooth is at its sweetest. All over the country, people are eating and gifting sweets. But this year, Jaipur, which has always been known for its sweets, has zoomed into limelight and exclusivity by producing perhaps the most expensive sweet ever made, at least in India. It has been created by Anjali Jain, founder of Tyohaar Sweet House in Vaishali Nagar, Jaipur, and is named 'Swarn Prasadam'. Its price, Rs. 1,11,000 (about USD 1200) per Kg. or Rs. 3000 per piece. Oh dear!

What makes it so expensive? Its basic ingredient is 'chilgoza' or pine nut, one of the most costly nuts in the world, blended with saffron and edible gold dust, crafted like a jewel and packed in a jewellery box. 

For less money, you can indulge in 'Swarn (gold) Bhasma Bharat' at Rs. 1950 or 'Chandi (silver) Bhasma Bharat' at Rs. 1150 per piece. There is also the 'Pataka Thaal' full of sweets made from cashewnuts and shaped like firecrackers resembling bombs, anaars, chakris and diyas.

Jaipur sweets have always been dear to me in the loveable sense of the word but it was inevitable that growth, progress and desire to be unique and creative would make the sweets dear in the other meaning of the word. The first sweet I remember enjoying soon after moving to Jaipur in 1950 was the Jalebi which Pitaji, my Nana, would send for every Sunday for breakfast, fresh from -where else!- Jalebi Chowk near the famous Hawa Mahal. Mataji, my Nani, for 'bhog' offering to gods at home, would get Kalakand and Misri Mawa from a 'halwai' in Gopalji Ka Raasta straight from the 'kadhai'. Another sweet we were very fond of was the milk cake from Chawla Sweets which had a distinct caramel like taste not available in milk cakes from other sources.

Later on, I discovered Delhi Mishthan Bhandar opposite the old Prem Prakash (now Golcha) cinema hall near the southern end of Chaura Raasta. My favourite was a sweet the name of which I forget which was like a juicy ’balushahi’ topped with dollops of cream. Next to that shop, Sarvesh Mamaji, son of Mataji’s brother, opened a restaurant, Paradise, and treated all relatives including me and friends for free. Needless to say he soon went into red and had to close Paradise!

The love affair with Jaipur sweets continues with some changes necessitated by passage of time. We miss the milk cake from Chawla's as the shop closed at the onset of Covid and never opened again. Gopalji Ka Rasta has lost its shine in competition with big shops like Laxmi Mishthan Bhandar. Jalebi Chowk is now more famous for ladies clothing than jalebis.

But there are other old timers that have survived and blossomed despite modern glitz. Bhagat Sweet House near Chhoti Chaupar continues to be known for its unique brown laddoos made out of 'besan' and milk. A small narrow lane off Johari Bazaar, Gheewalon Ka Rasta, boasts of two tiny shops which prepare sweets in the morning and are sold out by the afternoon. One produces first rate Misri Mawa and Gulab Sakri with distinctive rose flavour. The second makes the traditional Ghewar, the typical Jaipur sweet that resembles a honeycomb and you can have it dipped in syrup with the amount of sugar as required by you.

We look forward to each visit to Jaipur to replenish our stock of sweets. Hopefully, Swarn Prasadam will not be too dear a sweet for us.

Happy Diwali. Indulge!

 

TWO LULLABIES AND A SONG

What a paradox - I woke up this morning with two lullabies buzzing in my head!

The first is one of the oldest songs I can remember. Its 78 rpm record was discovered at home by me in early 1940s along with the gramophone, the hand-winding His Master's Voice one with the logo of Nipper, the dog. The song was the lullaby, 'Soja Rajkumari', composed by Pankaj Mullick and sung by KL Saigal. 

As in all lullabies, it's words are fanciful and the music soft and soothing. Sung in Hindi, here's a translation -

"Sleep, princess, sleep

Sleep, I adore you greatly, sleep

Sleep, may you have sweet dreams 

In dreams you will see your loved one 

You will fly to Roopnagar (fairyland)

Your Roopnagar girl companions will come

Rajaji will garland you and kiss your forehead

Sleep, Princess, sleep."

Since it is for a ‘Rajkumari’, nobody would have sung it as a lullaby to me but Akhila reminds me that I used to sing it to Shumita on being given the task of making her go to sleep!

The second lullaby is the "Cradle Song" by Brahms which was a part of Father Mackessack's repertoire in his singing class in St. Xavier's School, Jaipur, in 1951-52. Brahms wrote it in German and dedicated it to his lady friend on the birth of her second son in 1868. The song is one of Brahms most famous and popular pieces and has many versions in nursery rhymes. The words I remember are the ones that Fr. Mackessack taught us -

"Lullaby and good night

Thy mother's delight

Bright angels around my darling shall stand

They will guard thee from harms 

Thou shall wake in my arms

They will guard thee from harms

Thou shall wake in my arms."

Pretty effective for Ruchir and Shumita in their childhood.

Then there is a song which I used to sing as a lullaby to my grandsons, Shiven and Raghav, whenever it fell upon me to put them to bed. I first heard "This Old Man" or "Knick-Knack Paddywhack" in the movie, "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" in which Ingrid Bergman played the role of a real-life British missionary, Gladys Aylward, happily singing this song and leading a bunch of little children up the steps of a mission in China. It is a counting song going from one to ten beginning with - 

"This old man, he played one

He played knick-knack on my drum

With a knick-knack paddywhack give a dog a bone

This old man came rolling home."

And so on to 'two/shoe', 'three/knee', 'four/door', 'five/hive', 'six/sticks', 'seven/heaven', 'eight/gate', 'nine/spine' and finally 'ten/hen'.

I rarely got to ten. By about five/six, the boys fell asleep and this old man went rolling home!

NIPPER AND 'HIS MASTER'S VOICE'

When you reach the age of 'getting high on numbers', any small thing can flood you with nostalgia. My way to dam the flood and make it safe to wade happily (remember, I am a non-swimmer) in memories is to 'blog' it!

The other day, there was a story in BabaMail featuring 15 hilarious amateur recreations of famous paintings. One of the originals was the entertainment trademark "His Master's Voice", used on the recording labels and gramophones of 'The Gramophone Company/EMI/HMV'.  It featured a dog looking curiously into and seemingly listening to the horn-like speaker of a hand-winding gramophone.

The real-life story behind the logo is heartwarming. There actually was a dog, a little terrier named Nipper, belonging to one Mark Henry Barraud in Bristol, UK. Mark died in 1887 and his brothers, Francis and Philip, took care of Nipper. Apparently, Nipper used to sit in front of a phonograph and listen in wonder to recordings of the voice of Mark which the two brothers used to play for the dog.

The dog died in 1895 and three years later, Francis, an artist, made a painting of Nipper and a phonograph titled "Dog Looking at and Listening to a Phonograph." The painting was offered to various phonograph companies including Edison Bell whose owner famously rejected it saying, "Dogs don't listen to phonographs". Finally, 'The Gramophone Company' in England bought it with the modification that the painting show one of the Company's own disc machines. And so was born 'His Master's Voice'.

The story is special to me as it was through an 'His Master's Voice' gramophone that I was introduced to music. As a child, as soon as I became aware of things around me, I found an HMV gramophone at home and some 78 rpm records. With only my grandparents in the house, I took possession of my finds and learnt to play the machine. Soon music became my passion and no day would go by without my playing a few records.

Starting with the morning, the house would echo with sounds of "Yeh Kaun Aaj Aaya Savere Savere", rumbling and whistles of "Toofan Mail", marching beats of "Praan Chaahe Nein Na Chaahe", hopes of someone visiting with "Aayega Aane Wala", approach of the night with "Yeh Raatein Yeh Mausam" and falling asleep hoping for sweet dreams listening to "Soja Rajkumari, Soja." 

Then there were songs to be played on a specific occasion. For example, whenever I got good results in exams, I would come home and play "Aaj Apni Mehnaton Ka Mujhko Samra Mil Gaya".

I lost my father when I was just four but thanks to the love and care of Mummy, my Nana and Nani and my two Mamas, I had a happy childhood. So I loved 'bachpan' songs of which there were plenty. To name a few, I had "Bachpan Ke Din Bhula Na Dena", "Bhala Tha Kitna Apna Bachpan", "Kahan Woh Bachpan Ka Pyara Sapna", “Bachpan Ke Din Bhi Kya Din Thay” and "Mere Bachpan Ke Saathi Mujhe Bhool Na Jaana".

I used to eagerly look forward to Vinnie Mama's visits who always brought new records whenever he came home on vacation from Allahabad University. Then he joined the Navy and I, St. Xavier's Jaipur and we got interested in English music. Vinnie Mama's first buys were "The Rich Maharajah of Magador", "My Truly Truly Fair", and "Goodnight Irene". Meanwhile, I learnt that English records were available in Delhi at a shop "Marques & Co." in Connaught Circus. We used to visit Delhi quite often and a visit to that shop was always on my schedule. And so I had "Don't Let The Stars Get in Your Eyes", "My Blue Heaven" and "White Christmas" on my fingertips whenever I desired.

With NDA and Navy for me and my grandparents changing houses, the gramophone got lost. I was heartbroken but forever grateful to it for instilling music in my blood.

Thank you for the music, Nipper and 'His Master's Voice'. I shall never forget you.

I'M AN ORDINARY MAN

I claim Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe wrote this for me!

I'm an ordinary man
Who desires nothing more just the ordinary chance
To live exactly as he likes
And do precisely what he wants
An average man am I
Of no eccentric whim
Who likes to live his life
Free of strife
Doing whatever he thinks is best for him
Just an ordinary man

I'm a very gentle man

Even tempered and good natured

Who you never hear complain

Who has the milk of human kindness

By the quart in every vein

A patient man am I

Down to my fingertips

The sort who never could

Ever would

Let an insulting remark escape his lips

Just a very gentle man

I'm a quiet living man

Who prefers to spend the evening

In the silence of his room

Who likes an atmosphere as restful

As an undiscovered tomb

A pensive man am I

Of philosophic joys

Who likes to meditate

Contemplate

Free from humanity's mad inhuman noise

Just a quiet living man