Shreekant Sambrani tells himself over and over again, don't lose heart in these dire times, there is asha (hope) still, in the divine voice of Asha Bhosle.
'The largest listenership for Vividh Bharati outside the country is in Spain.' 'The labourers who go there for the tomato-picking season feel cut off from their country and listen to Vividh Bharati to overcome their loneliness.'
Because of Mukesh's much-hailed association with Raj Kapoor, it is often overlooked that the singer has also scored hits with almost all major heroes. On Mukesh's 102nd birth anniversary on July 22, Dinesh Raheja recalls some of his classic songs.
What despots and dictators, jammers and competitors, had not managed to do in 83 years -- what the Soviet Union had failed to counter during the Cold War; what China had failed to crush during the Tiananmen Square uprising -- a US President had succeeded with his own hand, notes Krishna Prasad.
'Ameen Sayani was copied by generations. Now everyone is trying to become smaller Ameen Sayanis in their own way.'
'Namaste behno aur bhaiyo, main aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hoon'
'I have attended many trailer launches, and stood on this stage many times, but today, I'm very emotional.'
For four decades, his voice united millions of Indians for an hour every Wednesday as he brought Hindi cinema's greatest songs in an unparalleled radio broadcast.
'How can we tolerate such high-handedness?'
One could be anywhere -- huddled around a transistor radio at home in the evenings, walking past a neighbour's house, or waiting at a bus stop and Lata Mangeshkar's voice would reach us. Aseem Chhabra pays rich tribute to The Legend.
Where Shamshad Begum was charging Rs 900 for a song, Lata was prepared to settle for Rs 50 as she came on the scene. Raju Bharatan recalls yet another memorable incident from Lata Mangeshkar's incredible life.
'Even after Awaara Hoon and Mera Joota Hai Japani, between 1946 to 1963, there were plenty of upheavals in his career. My parents had moved into two rooms of a chawl, with an attached bathroom, by then, but life was hard, and often there was no food at home.'
'The mohabbat Shah Rukh Khan gives out on screen is very important in today's times.'
'This obsession with 'one' is not good for a country like India.'
Was this indeed the Lata who had started out with her, as a child star, in Badi Maa (1945)? Raju Bharatan recalls yet another memorable incident from Lata Mangeshkar's incredible life.
When it mattered most, when it concerned the beloved Superstar of my childhood, it was Vividh Bharathi that did not let me down where all the rest failed.
Did video kill the radio star? Definitely no. FM radio is on a high, but there is equal space for RJs, VJs and DJs.
Many investment options once seen as safe havens are presently out of sync
His songs were the anchor, the substratum, if you will, upon which life unfolded day after day, decade after decade -- across villages, towns, cities, and regions. Siva Sankar pays tribute to S P Balasubrahmanyam, the legendary singer who passed into the ages on Friday.
'Her death has left a small hole in me. That little space that her songs and her screen image always filled in me. She had not worked in films for years, but somehow I always sensed she was there, somewhere in Bombay where movie magic is made.'
Shekhar Gupta has a question for Kanhaiya Kumar, but a bigger, more vital, one for the honourable judge.
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