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Published: 26 February 2018

Last Updated: 27 February 2018

This is the earliest adaption of a European tune that I have heard. It is based on El Jarabe Tapatio or Mexican Hat dance, a traditional Mexican tune. This is almost a decade before that Samadhi song or Mangala's Brazilian adaptations.

Listen to 1941_beTee_07_vaasantee_1941 beTee jaag-3-jag-re-ab-to_x_GYaan-datt.mp3

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Bharat 31 Lata Gobindram

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Published: 17 November 2020

Last Updated: 17 November 2020

as Karan Diwan's mother. Photo courtesy Sheo Khetan.

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Misc 129

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Published: 10 May 2021

Last Updated: 17 May 2021

I write the following,

"My first film in a cinema hall was Shrimatiji (1952). From the beginning I have been fascinated with the whole film making process, the financing, producing, directing, acting, editing, lyrics writing, singing, musical direction, casting, and so on. I wondered about the non-stars who played supporting roles, filled the scenery or appeared in the dances. My uncle would tell me about the character artists, Hiralal, Madan Puri, Brahm Bhardwaj, Protima Devi, Praveen Paul and others.

When the Internet came and I joined the Usenet discussion group RMIM (rec.music.misc.indian), I made many friends, some of whom lived in Bombay and had stories to tell about them. Eventually the group moved to Facebook, where I found many other groups. One of them, THOSE WHO COUDNT MAKE IT BIG BUT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE WITH OUT THEM, was very active in seeking out information about all these non-stars. One of the members is the main author of this book.

I watched all the activities of Upendra on that group with great interest. I soon found out he lived in the area and went to the University of California, San Diego. We met each other and I gave him a copy of my film collection. He really dug into the collection spending countless hours recognizing, finding and listing, not only the usual character artists, but also the Junior Artists! Once I realized what he had done, I suggested that all this go into a book. When looked at the amount of hard work he had done, we decided to split it into two books."

Me, when I was roughly as old as Upendra.

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Musing 845: My Preface. New 28