Hitting The Right Notes: Hindi Cinema’s Golden Music
₹595.00
Hitting The Right Notes is a collection of stories that explores the great music that was once made in Hindi cinema, the musicians who made it happen, the instruments that were part of the narrative, and hundreds of associated ideas that confluenced to make it happen. In these pages there are essays on parallel harmony and counter-melody, as also on songs that end on a high pitch, and why they are made to do so. There are articles that attempt to demystify ghazals, with plenty of examples from our cinema. Other stories tell us about rhythmless songs the west calls senza misura, as also the significance behind background songs, with examples again. All such fascinating subjects are offered in a page-turning, reader-friendly way, and needless to say, the other, simpler subjects are also treated in the same absorbing fashion. Instances of such subjects would be songs featuring the horse-trot beats, the music of OP Nayyar and SD Burman, actresses playing the piano, the presence of the dance form called Laavni, and so on. All these stories are sparked by the myriad facets of our wonderful music, and many have not been offered earlier in any way, anywhere.
Category: | General Interest |
---|
Author | |
---|---|
Format |
Related products
-
A Handful of Sesame
With a captivating start, A Handful of Sesame plunges us into the heart of the dying years of the 1857 mutiny. But the mutiny is largely a backdrop to the novel. When Kamalanabh of Kashi is manipulated by an impoverished Brahmin of Navalgund into marrying his daughter, the novel becomes basically the story of an internal migration. This is rare, and it remains one of the strengths of the novel. We are so used to speaking of migration across the postcolonial bridge and accredited national borders that we forget that India is a country of endless internal migrations – in the past and the present.
-
Retro India
Retro India is, in essence, a trip down the memory lane, meandering through the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties of the twentieth century. Today?s youth would battle with the fact that India had experienced a sweeping change from what it was in just as recently as thirty years ago. What kind of a moribund economy could engender a continuing state of shortages, high inflation, low growth, a paucity of jobs, rampant smuggling, and a foreign exchange situation that was perpetually perilous! It took major political and economical transformations to remove the shackles that then bound the economy. This narrative provides a clear bridge between the then and now for the younger generations. And for the older reader, it provides a heap of nostalgia. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the changes in India have been vast and comprehensive. In these decades, economic indicators such as India?s growth in GDP rate, the proliferation of the number of Airlines in the Indian skies, the multiplying of car models, the flourishing of telephone connections and moving on to the world of mobiles, televisions going colour from black and white to operating with over a thousand channels, India turning digital, and so on clearly directs that India had taken a crucial turn in its history. India has changed. And how! The Indian consumer grins. This is notwithstanding the fact that poverty is endemic and the gulf between the rich and the poor
-
Legends of Travancore – A Numismatic Heritage
The Kingdom of Travancore in the Southern part of India was a native state in British India which was well known for its progressive outlook. Its enlightened royalty ruled the country as Sree Padmanabha Dasa. They had in place a well oiled administrative mechanism that implemented various programs and reforms, resulting in an overall development of Travancore. Though Travancore was under the colonial rulers, there was a well-orchestrated administrative machinery for coinage. Coins were minted as per the specifications ordered by the periodically issued Royal Proclamations. It is creditable that Travancore retained its independence in its functioning to a large extent. This book is an insight into the coins of Modern Travancore (from 1729 AD) which not only reflects the religious beliefs of the rulers, but also sketches the socio-political atmosphere of the period. Dr Joseph Thomas hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, is a Professor of Urology at Manipal University in India. His passion for collecting coins developed into a serious numismatic pursuit. His special area of interest is the study of the history of Venad and Travancore. His detailed study of the Travancore coins and the various related issues give an insight into the rich numismatic heritage of modern Travancore. He is a Life Member of the Philatelic and Numismatic Association of Thiruvananthapuram and a Life Member of the South Indian Numismatic Society, Chennai.
-
Sati Kamale
This eponymous novel is centred on Kamale, who is an embodiment of wifely virtue. For fifteen long years Kamale lives the life of a widow to the outside world, nurturing the hopes of reuniting with the husband one day. Alone in the room, each night she wears her marks of a married woman with the dagger gifted by Umesha next to her. It could be seen as an exposition on the then existing indigenous discourse in India in the 19th century and early 20th century. Kamale, in her rigorous commitment and in retrieving her husband from ‘death’, is fashioned after Savithri in an intertextual reference to Mahabharata’s episode of “Satyavan and Savithri”. The novel might look conservative for the present-day reader, but it is a representative literary work of the time when Paniyadi, among many others, wanted to regain the independent status of the Tulu language which had somehow slipped out of its pedestal.
-
Ancient Stone Riddles: Megaliths of the Indian Subcontinent
Ancient Stone Riddles is an introduction to the fascinating but less-known monuments called megaliths in the context of the Indian subcontinent. The book seeks to present the current understanding among archaeologists and other researchers in a lucid manner to the general reader, while stimulating thought on the many questions that linger about these remnants from our distant past and the people and cultures that built them. It also discusses recent research about the knowledge systems possessed by the megalith builders, including the possibility that some of these monuments were erected to observe celestial cycles.
Interested customers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on
-
A Birder’s Handbook to Manipal
The third edition of A Birder’s Handbook to Manipal documents 260 species of birds observed in Manipal since 2009. It is more concise and informative than the previous editions, covers more species and has up-to-date maps and documentation notes. This edition also comes with a waterproof quick-ID guide for easy use in the field, as well as bird sounds. Ramit Singal is a former student of Manipal Institute of Technology. He founded the Manipal Birders’ Club and authored the first and second editions of this book. In the past, he has been associated with Centre for Wildlife Studies and Nature Conservation Foundation as well as a number of short-term projects across the country. He enjoys spreading the love for birds amongst others and has been working with bird-related citizen science projects over the past few years.
-
A Bond So Sacred
A Bond So Sacred tells the story of Raman, a satyagrahi, who adopts Kokila, an orphan. He leaves the five year old in the care of his mother while he plunges into the freedom struggle. His nationalist fervour, however, clashes with his love for Amina, his charming neighbour who wants parental approval to their marriage. Raman’s mother is as staunch a Brahmin as Amina’s father is a Muslim. Will Raman be able to get their consent? The joy of India becoming an independent nation is marred by Gandhiji’s death. Raman’s fellow satyagrahis have gone their ways and he finds himself with no role to play in a rapidly changing country. Meanwhile, Kokila, his protégée, has her own battles to fight. As the years bring them together again, Kokila discovers truths about Raman that she would never have imagined. She is forced to confront the ghosts of the past, his and hers.
-
The Gandhi Cap and Other Short Stories by Raja Radhikaraman Prasad Singh
The book The Gandhi Cap and Other Short Stories offers a glimpse into the lifetime of work of a forgotten pioneer of Hindi fiction, Raja Radhikaraman Prasad Sinha. It is ironic that one cannot find a single book by this author who was so dedicated to Hindi literature. The stories in this collection are a testament not only to the contributions of Sinha to Hindi fiction but also, reflect the depth of political and social milieu of the times. Many readers will be moved by the elements patriotism, feminism, secularism, and spiritualism in these stories. Strong female characters are common in most of these stories. These characters provide both a moral fulcrum to the stories as well as reflect the struggle of women to balance prevailing customs with modernity. Some of these stories provide sharp political and social commentary that still have currency (The Gandhi Cap). Sinha incorporates a unique style of writing that uses lyrical prose and poetry together. He even employs a dialogue between the storyteller and a social gathering in the form of an epilogue, to offer a discourse on social dilemma about women?s plight to become modern while admonishing them to retain their Indian essence (An Expensive Bargain). We hope the readers will enjoy this wonderful collection.