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Seeing no new post from me on my blog, my readers got concerned about it. Pacifist just couldn’t tolerate this utter neglect and came again to my rescue. thank you, dear Pacifist. This is her third post on this blog and with it she is showing her business acumen. Bravo, Pacifist! More power to the small businessmen and -women!
Pacifist’s choice of 10 songs of small business
Thank you Harvey. I’m quite pleased at having this opportunity of posting 10 songs on a subject I have often thought about. People selling stuff, doing business. It was a wonderful time of economic opportunity, letting the small fish survive. Today they have been eaten up by the big fish. I don’t mean to imply that they all sold stuff in the filmi manner, but sell, they did.
So in memory of those small dying/dead businesses, here are 10 such songs.

I do have more than 10 songs with a different product being sung and sold, but I’m such a sucker for melody, tunes which are pleasing to my ears that I left some and took some even though the product got repeated. Boot Polish was one such, Tel Maalish another 🙂
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Tags: aaj ki taaza khabar, Asha Bhonsle, baman ho ya jaat, Bhagwaan, boot chappal sandal- Karigar (1958), C Ramchandra, channa chor garam babu, Chitragupt, dev anand, Dhumal, ek aana boot polish do aana tel maalish, Film Pyaasa (1957), Ghar ki Laaj (1960), Guest Post, Jaan Nissar Akhtar, Jadoo [1951], Johnny Walker, Kabhi Andhera Kabhi Ujala (1958), Karigar (1958), Kishore Kumar, lelo choodiyan main laya nirali, lelo lelo do phool jani lelo, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Maya [1961], Meena Kumari, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Nalini Jaywant, Naushad, Naya Andaaz (1956), O. P. Nayyar, OP Nayyar, Pacifist, Prem Dhawan, Rajendra Krishan, Ravi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Sajid Khan, Salil Choudhary, sar jo tera chakraye, SD Burman, Shakeel Badayuni, Shamshad Begum, Shanti Mathur, Sheikh Mukhtar, Son of India (1962), surma mera nirala, Tel Maalish Boot Polish (1961), This Singing Business, Usha Mangeshkar, zindagi hai kya, Zorabai
Dear Pacifist has agreed once again to honour this blog with a post of hers. Thank you, Pacifist!
10 beautiful village songs
Poos ki sard raat thi…, chilchilati dhoop mein nange paon…, (it was a freezing winter night…, bare feet in the blistering heat…,) are phrases I associate Munshi Premchand with. Though we used the term chilchilati dhoop , poos ki raat was new. Village life in the north, as depicted in his novels, was very harsh as these two terms indicate. My interest in his novels branched into reading some of his short stories too, so when Harvey asked me to write a post I thought of Munshi Premchand and villages.

Now we all know that the village life as depicted in our films is nothing like the real thing, but some of the older films did manage to get some sort of realism, simplicity, though in some cases burdensome (Mother India). Whatever the case they always give me a feeling of being purified. Blame it on the pollution inducing contemporary films. Dilip Kumar, Balraj Sahni, even Raj Kumar made convincing villagers. The heroines all looked good enough. Not only that, but the folksy songs were great. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 10 beautiful village songs, A village mela (fair), Amitabh Bachchan, Anjaan, Asha Bhonsle, Balraj Sahni, Dharti kahe pukar ke, Dilip Kumar, Do Bailon Ki Katha, Do Beegha Zameen (1953), Do Boond Pani (1971), Godan (1963), Gunga Jamuna (1961), Har haseen cheez ka, Harvesting, Heera Moti (1959), Heeya jarat rahat din rain, Hemant Kumar, Jaane kahe jiya more dole, Jab se lagan lagayi re, Jaidev, Jawaharlal Nehru, Julmi sang aankh ladi, Kaifi Azmi, Kishore Kumar, Lali lali dolia mein lali, Lata Mangeshkar, Leisure time in the village, Madhumati (1958), Manna Dey, Minoo Purshottam, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Munshi Premchand, Naach re dharti ke pyare pyare, Nain lad jainhe, Naushad, Neeraj, Nirupa Roy, O bedardi aa mil jaldi, Parveen Sultana, Peetal ki meri gaagri, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Raj Kapoor, Rakhee, Ravindra Jain, Reshma aur Shera (1971), Roshan, Salil Choudhary, Saudagar (1971), Shailendra, Shakeel Badayuni, Shankar-Jaikishan, Shreyas Talpade, Shubha Khote, Simi Garewal, Teesri Kasam (1966), The village backbone: Rain, The village belle gori, The village rasiya (hero), the womenfolk, Village celebration – wedding, Village children, Village family, Vyjayanthimala, Waheeda Rehman, Welcome to Sajjanpur
My ten favourite Dharmendra songs

Dharmendra had his birthday on 8th December, but unfortunately it was shadowed by Dev Anand’s demise. Happy belated Birthday, Dharmendra!

So much has been written about Dharmendra’s good looks. What shall I add to it? When I think of his fine appearance, the song that comes to my mind is:
chaand aahen bharega (the moon will sigh)
phool dil tham lenge (the flowers will clasp their hearts)
husn ki baat chali to (when the talk is of good looks)
sab tera naam lenge (your name will be mentioned)
What I find enchanting about him is his dazzling smile. When he smiles it has an assurance of ‘everything will be fine’ and one just melts away. He was not only good looks; he also made some splendid movies, till he went into the kutte-kaminey mode.

Choosing songs from his films was not easy, since many good songs by Mohd. Rafi have picturised on him. So to make things easier for me I had to put in some rules
a) One song pro film
b) Only solo songs
c) Songs to which he lip syncs, i.e. no background songs,that is why pal pal dil ke paas from Blackmail [1973] is conspicuous by its absence.
After the correction by Samir, I’ll put another clause:
d) Songs, where he is not “in Rakhee’s imagination, or just floating around”, that is why pal pal dil ke paas from Blackmail [1973] is conspicuous by its absence. 😉

Ten favourite Dharmendra songs is not a very original post. Sunehriyaadein and Greta have also done a similar post some time ago. Here is my take on it. So, here we go…
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Tags: Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hai, Aap Ke Haseen Rukh Pe, aga ye jawal ye laju nako, Anand Bakshi, Anjaan, Anupama [1966], Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi [1966], Bhupendra, Blackmail [1973], Do Chor [1972], Dulhan Ek Raat Ki [1967], Duniya O Duniya Tera Jawab Nahin, Ek Haseen Shaam Ko, Ek Hi Khwab Kai Baar Dekha, Gulzar, Happy Birthday Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Hemant Kumar, jaane woh kaise log they, Kahani Kismat Ki [1973], Kaifi Azmi, Kalyanji-Anandji, Khamoshi [1969], Kinara [1977], Kishore Kumar, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Loafer [1973], Madan Mohan, Main Jat Yamla Pagla Deewana, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Mala Sinha, Meri Jaan, meri jaan meri jaan kehna maano, Mohammad Rafi, Mumtaz, My ten favourite Dharmendra songs, Naya Zamana [1971], Nutan, O. P. Nayyar, pal pal dil ke paas, Pratiggya [1975], Pyaasa, R. D. Burman, Rafta Rafta Dekho Aankh Meri Ladi Hai, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Rajinder Krishan, S. D. Burman, Tanuja, Tum Pukar Lo, Waheeda Rehman, Ya Dil Ki Suno
My ten favourite songs on not wanting to let go.
As I was humming abhi na jao chhodkar few days back, I realised that, not wanting to let the lover go is an oft-repeated motif in Hindi film songs. Well, from this thought to the thought of making list was a short hop.

Letting go, is a difficult task in life and not only the lover but also many other things in life. So here is to the process of relinquishing and surrender!
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Tags: Abhi Na Jao Chhodkar, Anand Bakshi, Anil Biswas, Asha Bhosle, Asha Parekh, Bade Dilwaala [1983], Bees Saal Baad [1962], Beqaraar Kar Ke Hume Yun Na Jaiye, Biswajeet, Bulo C. Rani, dev anand, Dharmendra, Do Badan [1966], Don't go... !, Geeta Dutt. Nargis, Hemant Kumar, Hum Dono [1962], Jaidev, Jogan [1950], jogi jab se tu aayaa more dwaare, Kahin Na Jaa Aaj Kahin Mat Jaa, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Manoj Kumar, Mat Jaa Mat Jaa Mat Jaa Jogii, Mat Jaiyo Naukariya Chhodke, mat jaiyon nagariya chhod ke, Meerabai, Mere Hamdam Mere Dost [1968], Mohammad Rafi, Mujhe Jeene Do [1963], Na Jaa Kahin Ab Na Jaa Dil Ke Sivaa, Na Jaa... !, Na Jaiyo Radhe Cheedenge Shyam, Naa Dir Diim ... Naa Jaa Naa Jaa Balam Balam Mere Naa, Naa Jaa O Mere Humdum, Nadii Naare Na Jaao Shaam Paiyaan padu, Nasir Husain, Padmini, Pardesi[ 1957], Prem Dhawan, Pyar Ka Mausam [1969], R. D. Burman, Ravi, Rishi Kapoor, Sadhana, Sahir Ludhianvi, Sardar Jafri, Sau Saal Baad [1966], Shakeel Badayuni, Sharmila Tagore, Shashi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Tina Munim, Waheeda Rehman
Ten of my favourite flower songs
Blame it on dustedoff! Yeah, she asked me to do this post. And since I always do what I am asked to. Here it is.

Flowers and love go together. Flower codes abound as to what flower to send as secret message. In Hindi film songs, the flowers have been mostly used as similies or metaphors for the heroine. Gulabi hooth (rosy lips) being one of the common comparisons.
In my list I have again used some criteria to boil my list down to ten:
1. Songs with flowers used as adjectives have not been taken (so, no ‘gulabi aankhen jo teri dekhi’)
2. One different flower pro song (i.e. if I like two songs, both with rose in it more than the song with jasmine, than I had to choose between the two rose songs)
3. One song pro film (that was very easy)
4. When the name of the flower is the name of a character in the film, it has been rejected (so no ‘ghar jayegi, tar jayegi’
So here are my 10 favourite solo songs featuring ten different flowers.
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Tags: Aaj Raat Ko, Ai Nargis-E-Mastaanaa, Ajit, Amol Palekar, Arzoo, Ashok Kumar, B. S. Kalla, Baant Bahar, Bahut Din Huwe, Basu Chatterji, Bharat Bhushan, Chaman ke Phool Bhi Tujh Ko Gulaab Kehte Hai, Chameli, Champa, Champa Khili Daar, Champakali, Delonix regia, Devta, Dil Ek Mandir, Dooj ka Chand, dustedoff, English Name: Daffodil, Faisla, Farooq Qaiser, Flower Power, flowers, G. S. Kohli, Genda, ghar jayegi, Gulaab, gulabi aankhen jo teri dekhi, Gulmohar, Gulmohar Gar Tumhara Naam Hota, Gulzar, Hasrat Jaipuri, Hum Dil Ka Kanwal, Jasmine, Jasminum auriculatum, Jasminum sambac, Juhi, Kamal, Ketaki, Ketaki Gulaab Juhi Champak Ban Phoole, Kewra, Kishore Kumar, Kyu Chameli Khil Khilati Hai Bataa, Lata Mangeshkar, LotusJuhi Ki Kali Meri Laadli, Madhubala, Magnolia, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Manna Dey, Marigold, Meena Kumari, Michelia champaca, Mohammad Rafi, Narcissus, Nargis, Nelumbo nucifera, Pandanus, Phool Gendawaa Naa Maaro, Polianthes tuberosus, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Indra, R. D. Burman, Raaj Kumar, Ragini, Rajanigandha, Rajanigandha Phool Tumhare, Rajendra Kumar, Rakesh Roshan, Rosa, Rose, Roshan, Royal Poinciana, Sadhana, Sahir, Saira Banu’s Magnolia champaca, Salil Chaudhary, Sanjeev Kumar, Sarika, Screw Pine, Shailendra, Shankar-Jaikishan, Shikari, Suman Kalyanpur, Tagetes, Tuberose, Vidya Sinha, Vinod Mehra, Vyjayanthimala, Yogesh, Zindagi
My ten favourite moon songs

Tomorrow is full moon and we all know what it does … ahem…, to the lovers. No wonder that the moon features in so many songs. It also has different roles in it. The moon is at times the messenger, at times it is an intruder, sometimes it is a catalyst or also be addressed as the beloved him or herself. It can be different things, but one thing is for sure, it doesn’t leave the lovers cold and nor it does me.
The moon songs genre belongs to one of my favourites. There are so many songs with chaand in it, that it is really very difficult to choose ten. So I had to use the following criteria:
1. The songs have to blatantly call out to the moon.
2. Not included are comparisons with moon (so, no chaudhvin ka chaand ho),
3. nor indirect allusions to the moon (no o jaanewale chaand…),
4. nor mere confirmation of its presence (no chaand akela jaye sakhi ri),
5. nor be a lullaby (no chandaa o chandaa kisne churayi).
So here are my favourite 10 ‘chaand’ songs (in chronological order) from Hindi cinema.
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Tags: A R Rahman, Aarti Mukherji, Ameerabai Karnataki, Angulimaal, Anil Biswas, Asha Bhosle, Ashok Kumar, Awaara, Aye chaand zaraa chup jaa, Bharat Bhushan, Bharat Vyas, Bhartruhari, Chanda jaa chanda jaa re jaa, Chanda re chanda kabhi to zameen par aa, Chandaa desh piya ke jaa, Chandaa re jaa re jaa re, Dam bhar jo udhar munh phere, dev anand, Dheere dheere chal chaand gagan me, Dheere dheere dhal re chanda, Dil Ek Mandir, Dilip Dholakia, Hariharan, Hasrat Jaipuri, Jaa jaa re chanda jaa re, Javed Akhtar, Jayshree Gadkar, Kamini Kaushal, Khemchand Prakash, Laatsaab, Lata Mangeshkar, Love Marriage, Madan Mohan, Mala Sinha, Manmauji, Meena Kumari, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Nargis, Nimmi, Nutan, Prem Dhawan, Private Secretary, Pt. Indra Chandra, Raaj Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rajinder Krishan, Ruk ja raat theher jaa re chandaa, Sadhana, Sadhna Sargam, Sapnay, Shailendra, Shammi Kapoor, Shankar-Jaikishan, Ziddi