Hidden umbrella passions in ten Hindi film songs
Umbrellophily, a phenomenon not spoken sung about in the Hindi film industry. The author of these lines like many other fans of Hindi film songs was not aware of this shocking fact either. During his search for a list of his 10 favourite umbrella songs (since rain-song lists have been beaten to death), he stumbled over this taboo topic in the Hindi cinema. While he was searching, he could unearth only three songs, which mention an umbrella and two-thirds of them were not even melodious. Why this step-motherly treatment towards this ‘protector against rain’?
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Tags: aakhir tuut jaatha hai, Aap ke nazaron ne samjha, Aasha, Aayega, aayega aanewaalaa, Ab mera kaun sahara, Amitabh Bachchan, Anand Bakshi, Anpadh, Asha Bhosle, Asha Parekh, Ashok Kumar, bari, Barsaat, Bhichde sabhi bari, Dharmendra, Dhoop Chhaon, Do lafzon ki hai dil ki kahani, gondola, gondoliere, Gulzar, guru dutt, hai lagaa, Hasrat Jaipuri, Hema Malini, Hindi film songs, hum par jurm kare, Jaya Bhaduri, Joshila, K. C. Dey, K. L. Saigal, Kaagaz ke Phool, Kaantaa lagaa, Kaifi Azmi, Madhubala, Mahal, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Mala Sinha, My Sister. Do naina matware tihare, Nargis, Parichay, Pt. Sudarshan, pyaar ke kabil mujhe, Pyaasa, R. C. Boral, R. D. Burman, Rain songs, Raj Kapoor, Rameshwari, Reena Roy, Rehman, Samadhi, Shakti Samanta, Shankar-Jaikishan, Sheesha ho ya dil ho, Sonaa mile to log aaj kal dil ko kabhi na le, Teri ghathri me laaga chor musaafir jaag zara, The Great Gambler, umbrella, Umbrella passions, Umbrellophily, Vishal Bharadwaj, Zeenat Aman
My 10 favourite ‘maanjhi’ songs from Hindi cinema

To say that I love the maanjhi songs would be an understatement. Particularly “O re maanjhi” from Bandini takes me to a different dimension. Maanjhi (also pronounced as maajhi) is a boatman. In songs and poems they are often pleaded to by lovers (mostly women) to take them across the river to meet their beloved. In devotional songs he is the spiritual master who is being begged by the seeker to give him/her that shift in consciousness, which will take him/her from the body consciousness to brahman. These two different levels give the songs a certain spin.
So here are my favourite 10 ‘maanjhi’ (in chronological order) songs from Hindi cinema. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke. Maanjhi naiya dhoondhe kinara, Amit Kumar, Amitabh Bachhan, Aruna Irani, Asha Parekh, Ashok Kumar, baaz, Bade acche lagte hai, Ballika Badhu, Bandhe Hath, Bandini, Biraj Bahu, chalo hole hole, dev anand, Dharmendra, Ferry, geeta bali, Gulzar, guru dutt, Hema Malini, Hemant Kumar, Hum Hindustani, Jeetendra, Kamini Kaushal, Kashti, Khushboo, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Maajhi Albele, Maanjhi Chal O Maanjhi Chal, Maanjhi Meri Qismat Ke Jee Chahe, Manjhi re le chal naiyya, mere saajan hai us paar, Mumtaz, Naav Badha Le Maajhi Jor Laga Le, Nirmal Choudhary, Nutan, O Maanjhi O Maanjhi Re, O maanjhi re apna kinara, OP Nayyar, Pancham, Rajendra Krishna, Rajni Sharma, RD Burman, Sachin, SD Burman, Shailendra, Swaroop Dutt, tu Chale To Cham Cham Baje, Upahaar, Usha Khanna