The death of Samshad Begum is a great loss to the world of music.

Eminent singer Samshad Begum died on 23rd April, 2013. She was 93 years old. She was a very popular playback singer of the 1940s and 1950s. Composer Naushad Ali, OP Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan made great use of the beautiful voice of Samshad Begum. Naushad Ali successfully used her voice in the film Babul.One of the songs “chor chale babul ka gha” became super hit. Shankar Jaikishan used Samshadji in the film Awaara in 1951. The song “ek do teen, aaja mausam hai rangeen”, became bumper hit. Naushad Ali used her in classical songs and folk songs as well. In the film Mother India her song “holi ayi re kanhai” became super hit. The film reached cult status in 1957. OP Nayyar used the western andaz in the film CID. The songs “bujh mera kya naam re”, “leke pehla pehla pyar” became bumper hit. The film did excellent business and the songs stormed bollywood. OP Nayyar used Shamshad Begum successfully in other films like Naya Andaz, Kismat, etc. In the film Kismat the song “kajra muhabbat wala” Shamshad Begum had the great responsibility of singing the male version of the song. Her song was picturised on Biswajeet Chatterjee. Shamshad Begum did an excellent job in the film Mughal-i-azam. The film songs composed by Naushad Ali reached cult status. The song “teri mehfil me kismet” became super hit. OP Nayyar used Shamshad Begum very well in the film Naya Daur in the song “reshmi salwar”. One article is to small to mention the achievements of Shamshad Begum in a small article. Articles after articles can be devoted to the musical queen. The entire country is vey sad to know about Shamshad Begum’s demise and pray for her soul to rest in peace.

Gulzar is ahead of Sahir and Shailendra in historyindia.com polls.

In the lyricist category poet Gulzar is ahead and leading the historyindia.com pols. The polls are conducted to understand the greatest popularity of these famous personalities over the last 100 years. Gulzar is at number one position. Javed Akhtar is after him. Sahir Ludhiyanvi is at number three position and Shailendra is at number four position. Gulzar and Javed Akhtar are writing poetry in present period. They have written songs in films like Jab Tak Hai Jaan which are released one year. Although Gulzar had written excellent shayari for last 40 years, he is younger than poets like Sahir Ludhiyanvi or Shailendra. His words “is mor se jate hai, kuch sushth kadam raste” are really touchy. He wrote the words in the film Aandhi which was directed by him and released in 1975. Shailendra shaped the world of poetry and made Indian songs modern. His words in Raj Kapoor’s film Awaara titled “awaara hoon ya gardish me hoon aasman ka taara hoon” really appealed before the people of India and also Russia. Whenever Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi composed the tunes, the lyrics were written by Shailender. Whenever Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal composed the music the lyrics were written by Hasrat Jaipuri. All the films of Raj Kapoor like Barsaat, Awaara, Shee 420, Anari, Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, have brilliant lyrics of Shailendra. Sahir Ludhiyanvi had been an artist. His urdu poetry made the world of bollywood films very romantic. Madhubala’s beauty was described in the song “zindagi bhar nahi bhulegi wo barsaat ki raat” in the film Barsaat Ki Raat. Roshanlal Nagrath composed the tunes for the song and Rafisahab sang the song. Sahir is alive in his numerous romantic words “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon”, “kabhi kabhi mere dil me khayal aata hai”, etc. It is a bit unfair on the part of Shailendra or Sahir Ludhiyanvi to compete against Guzar or Javed Akhtar as they died long time back and the present generation may not know the great works to that extent.

The nation remembered Satyajit Ray on 23rd April, 2013.

The nation remembered Satyajit Ray on his death anniversary on 23rd April, 2013. Not only he was the recipient of the prestigious Oscar awards, he was the path-breaker in Indian films who taught the next-generation the art of story-telling. In 2010, Society had celebrated the 89th birth anniversary of the legendary director by showcasing some of his notable works like ‘Agantuk’, (The Stranger), ‘Jalsaghar’, (The Music Room), ‘Charulata’, (The lonely wife). The films were shown in Cinemax, Metro Big Cinemas and NCPA. After the films were shown, the significance of such films was discussed by Bhawna Somayya, ex-editor of Screen, filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh and film academicians from all across the country. Besides, discussions were held to highlight the contribution of Ray as a writer, an illustrator, an activist of the film society movement and a filmmaker. Internationally acclaimed directors like Shyam Bengal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, were greatly influenced by Satyajit Ray’s films like Apu Trilogy, Jalsagar, Nayak, Mahanagar, etc., and they themselves became eminent story-tellers of the following period. The use of nature, the birds, and background, and the use of theme music in translating an unknown event to a group of individuals had enchanted the thoughtful directors all across the world. Even directors of the present period like Goutam Ghosh are influenced by the works of Satyajit Ray. He made Abar Aranye which was a sequel to Satyajit Ray’s film Aranyer Dinratri. A personality like Ray could only make a film like Kanchenjungha, where the greatness of the Himalayas overshadowed the ego of a materialistic industrialist played by Satyajit Ray. An important part of Satyajit Ray’s creations include his literature on diverse subjects. While his Sandip Ray had taken the challenge of converting the Feluda Series into feelings, his literature relating to horror-based subject matters, his series of 12 stories are yet to be converted into films. Sandip Ray’s films Bombaier Bombete, Kailashe Kelenkari, Baksho Rahasya, based on epic literature of Ray had got good response from the viewers. But Ray’s brilliant stories in the 12 series like Ebaro Baro, Aro Baro, Ek Dojon Goppo, Aro Ek Dojon, Eker Pite Dui, are yet to see the light of celluloid. Ray’s stories like Khagam, based on the theme of human being converted into a snake, Pterodactyler dim, based on the prehistoric era, Fritze, based on the topic of life in a doll, Asomongobabur Kukur, based on the weird mannerisms of dogs, had bewildered the readers. If such stories are adapted and made into films, the viewers will enjoy them to the brim. The legacy of Ray whether in the form of neo-realistic films like Pather Panchali, or suspense –thriller stories relating to Feluda Series or Professor Shanku, still continues, even 18 years after his death. The stories should be translated in different languages, and films should be preserved and restored.