The Victoria and Albert Museum (or the V&A) in London has a fantastic collection of artifacts from India, that includes textiles, jewellery, paintings, weapons, etc. While many of these have been purchased by the V&A, some of the exhibits have been acquired during annexation of the princely states of pre-independent India by the British. One such exhibit is the Golden Throne of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, which was acquired as State property in 1849 on the annexation of Punjab.
Do you ever have a song, an idea, a storyline, or an image stuck in your head? And it just refuses to go away? For some time at least? I have this with music—it could be a song, an instrumental piece, a jingle, etc. This becomes my “now’”song, and the “nowness” (pardon my English here) could be for any length of time.
My now song is the immortal melody in Raga Bhairavi, “Baabul mora naihar chhooto hi jaye”. A popular song in Hindi films, mehfils and among thumri singers, many renderings are available to listen too. Some of the more popular ones are by Jagjit and Chitra Singh, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi and K.L. Saigal. And it was Saigal’s version which really made this song popular.
But the version I like and am sharing with you here is sung by Alisha Chinai to the accompaniment of L. Subramaniam’s violin.
I like this version for the jugalbandi of Alisha’s haunting melody, so unlike her other (better known) popular numbers, and for L. Subramaniam’s violin, with both artistes reinforcing and complementing one another, as well as the sombre mood of the song.
This lament was written by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, Nawab of Awadh when he was exiled from Lucknow by the British Raj after the failed Revolt of 1857. In this song, the Nawab uses bidaai (bride’s farewell) from her babul (natal home) as a metaphor for his own banishment from his beloved Lucknow, to far away Calcutta, while he spent the rest of his life.
Do listen to the version I have given here and also the versions by other artistes (you can listen to their version by clicking on their names). Which one did you like?
The Guest Post Serieson “My Favourite Things” has contributions by those sharing my interests in travel, books, music, and on issues that I am passionate about. Though the guest posts are not always by fellow bloggers, the guest authors are always those who have interesting experiences to share.
Today’s guest post is by a fellow blogger, Puru ofShadows Galore,who writes about his travels, photographs, memories and more. I eagerly wait for Puru’s travel posts as he is always visiting and writing about places that I have wanted to visit. My favourites are his posts on Sri Lanka and Angkor Wat. His series onLearning Photography is simple, easy and with instructions that actually work. In this post, Puru presents a photo essay on a morning spent at the Marina Beach in Chennai.
My last few days in Chennai saw me exploring the city and going to places where I had always thought of going but never actually did. So today I went to Marina Beach, the third longest beach in the world and the largest in Asia. Of all the beaches in Chennai, it happens to be the most dynamic and hence the most well known.
So early at 4:30 AM, I woke up and started for the beach with my camera. It was quite dark yet and the horizon had just started turning a few shades lighter. As the sun rose, I took a lot of photographs and I am sharing some of them here for you:
The candidness of street photography is something that I admire and appreciate. But it is also something that I feel inhibited to try it out myself as I feel very self-conscious about taking such candid shots. That is perhaps one of the reasons why you will rarely find people in my photographs.
But sometimes, people photo-ops are so compelling that my camera is out and the picture taken in no time. Like this wandering pianist I came across in London.
Work-wise, mid-March to mid-May is a little crazy for me—my department works on all days without a break during this period. Though my colleagues and I (and our families) are used to the punishing work schedule, it does get a little stressful at times. And that’s the cue to take a break, even if it is for a short while. We have our different ways of de-stressing. I do it by taking a little walk, talking to a friend on the phone, reading something funny, going through my digital photograph collection …
Earlier today, when work and deadlines loomed and threatened to overwhelm me, I decided to take a break by taking a walk. A virtual walk. A virtual walk in Regent’s Park, London—one of my favourite places in the world. Regent’s Park is one of the Royal Parks in London and has over 100 acres for outdoor sports activities. Located in Central London, the Regent’s Park is over 400 acres in size and includes the world-famous Queen Mary’s Gardens. The official website claims that the Gardens have 400 varieties of roses, as well as a collection of delphiniums and begonias.
During my year in London (2008-2009), it was a place that I walked in, relaxed in, picnicked in … It was a place that gave me refuge when studies or homesickness overwhelmed me. It was, in many ways, my own personal space in spite of being a public park, something that wasn’t too difficult considering I lived opposite the Park ! I have such a connection with the Park, that even thousands of miles away in Mumbai, it is not too difficult to do a virtual walk whenever I feel like, especially when I have photographs of Regent’s Park. One of my favourite sets of photos is of of the roses at the Queen Mary’s Gardens
This blog post was featured in the “Around the Blog” section of theDNA newspaperpublished on May 7, 2012 (pg.6).
That Mumbai has many hidden treasures is something that is underscored now and then when I experience or unearth something interesting about this city. But Mumbai still manages to surprise me with the sheer variety. For example, when I attended an exhibition at Mumbai University’s Cowasjee Jehangir Convocation Hall at its Fort Campus earlier this year, it was not just the exhibits that caught my eye.
This was my first (and so far only) time that I have visited the Convocation Hall, whose grand interiors are stunning, with elaborate detailing, stained glass windows, teak wooden seats, exquisite grill work, etc. But the the large stained glass window over the entrance to the Hall is probably the grandest and most stunning feature of them all.
The Zodiac Window at the Cowasjee Jahangir Convocation Hall of the University of Mumbai
