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Published: 04 July 2022

Last Updated: 04 July 2022

Well-known police officer Rakesh Maria talking about his dad H K Maria, who was assistant director of Hindi films for many years. From his book.

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Published: 03 July 2022

Last Updated: 03 July 2022

In earlier musings we discussed Mohanlal Aima, the famous Kashmiri Singer and Music Director. Turns out he gave music to one Panjabi film also.

A page from The Illustrated History of Punjabi Cinema by Bhim Raj Garg.

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Published: 02 July 2022

Last Updated: 02 July 2022

When I was growing up listening to all my favorite songs, I had no idea if I will ever have them in my actual possession. Later I did have them in the form of tapes, CDs, mp3 files etc. Of course, the popular ones were issued by HMV or converted to the latest media by enthusiasts.

About never heard songs, I did not know anything about them until the legendary Hindi Film Geet Kosh was published. I marveled at the huge lists of songs in the 5 volumes and wondered if I will ever get to listen to them.

It is not a secret that HMV has been very stupid in not saving the recordings of non-popular songs. This is our cultural heritage and they should have had a museum for the rare songs. The task fell on the shoulders of the obsessively crazy record collectors, who moved heaven and Earth to collect records from all corners of the world.

Here is an article on these dedicated people from the Journal of The Sangeet Natak Akademy.

Of course, the list is incomplete; they don't have any Pakistani collectors such as Allahdad Khan, or the commercial collectors such as Akbar Shah and Suman Chauasiya.

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