To encapsulate the life of a man often described the ‘King of Ghazals’, though he was much more than that, is no easy task. Just for attempting that, Sahar Zaman deserves applause.
Talat Mahmood, born in Lucknow and trained at what was then the Marris College of Music (now Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya) was a singer unlike any other. His natural velvet voice bore a slight quiver. It is a quiver which singers take years to cultivate. Musically termed vibrato, this quick and subtle change of voice between notes which are pitched very closely conveys emotions more powerfully than lyrics. When used without dedicated cultivation, a vibrato sounds contrived and the unevenness of breath can be made out by the trained ear; but when it comes naturally, it is as smooth as the wax and wane of emotion. Yet, in his early years in Mumbai, Mahmood strove to hide this unique quality, attempting often to sing in the nasal tones of his idol K.L. Saigal. This would not last long as Anil Biswas, a composer he had worked with for long, angrily walked out of a recording studio asking Mahmood to return only when the real Talat was found.
Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin February 11, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin February 11, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Angry, Young America
Campus protests against the Gaza war continue to linger as students demand a realignment of US ties with Israel
We need to engage more with communities
Designer Aratrik Dev Varman of the label Tilla has long been a lover of history. One could comfortably call him part-aesthete, part-archeologist, for his clothes dip into vintage styles of the Kutch, Sindh, Balochistan and Afghanistan, bringing alive antique styles and crafts. Tilla, the store and atelier, are situated on a tree-lined avenue in Ahmedabad.
The great luxury slowdown
A year or so ago, if anyone had told me that Tommy Hilfiger would have stolen the show at New York’s Met Gala, I would have laughed. But it seems the end of giant luxury labels is upon us even before we expected it. The American ready-to-wear designer Tommy Hilfiger seems to have created the maximum media buzz at the 2024 Met Gala, according to several data analytics firms.
RAP BRINGS RAPTURE
How indie artistes, especially hip-hoppers, are driving the phenomenal rise of Malayalam music
Employability issues are a narrative created by the corporate world
Prof Yogesh Singh is the 23rd vice chancellor of the century-old University of Delhi (DU). An engineer with a PhD in computer engineering, Singh has an impressive track record of teaching, innovation and research in the area of software engineering. He has more than 250 publications and his book, Software Testing, published by the Cambridge University Press, is well-received internationally. In an interview with THE WEEK, Singh talks about trends in higher education in India, the challenges faced by big universities, and how to make higher education more interesting. Asked about the perception that Indian graduates are “not employable”, he reacts strongly, and emphasises the difference between training and higher education. Edited excerpts:
SERVING WITH DISTINCTION
Conceived as a university like no other, Jawaharlal Nehru University became India's best. Here is how
Mandela Effect and Liar's Dividend
The complex tapestry of AI's impact on society
The other Sabyasachi
I am Sabyasachi Mukherjee, not to be confused with my namesake, the celebrated fashion couturier, declared the venerated director-general of Mumbai’s pride, George Wittet’s Indo-Saracenic jewel, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum.
THE MANGO HUNTERS
'Naadan Maavukal' started out as a Facebook group, but what it does offline has helped conserve many indigenous varieties of mangoes
BJP LEADERS, TOO, HAVE HAD ENOUGH
Farmers’ protest has taken the centre stage in Haryana, which goes to the polls on May 25. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is confident that the Congress, which has been out of power for 10 years, will regain its hold on the state. “People who voted for the BJP are disappointed today. It is clear that they want change,” he told THE WEEK.
