The article ‘His quivering voice still a rage’ (Raaj Kanwar, FR, May 8) on Talat Mahmood, found appreciation from many readers. Here are a few…
‘The article was refreshing and your comments on Talat saab are apt.
M.L. Mahendran,
Chennai
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A big thank you for the article. I am a singer and my whole family is mad after Talat. Even as a three-year-old, I was enthralled by Talat’s voice on the radio. When I stayed in Bombay, I had the opportunity to sing in front of him at his residence and get his blessings. In fact, it was after listening to me sing ‘Jalte hai jiske liye’ did my father-in-law give his blessing to marry his daughter. Thanks for the timely article.
Suresh Warrier,
Chennai
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I read the interesting article on the great Talat saab. No doubt, in a short article, it is difficult to recall all his immortal numbers. Yet I feel the following ghazals will always haunt music lovers: ‘Ye hawaa ye raat ye chandni, teri ek adaape’ (Sangdil); ‘Tasveer banatha hoon, takdeer nahin banti’ (Baara Dari), ‘Ai mere dil kahin aur chal’ (Daag) and ‘Dil lagakar humne socha zindagi kya cheez hain’ (Zindagi Aur Maut).
P.V. Hariharan,
Chennai
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I was pleased to read your well written article on Talat. ‘Jayen to Jayen to Kahan’ was the first song which had me spellbound. I still remember. It was 1954, and I was sipping coffee at a hotel in Bengaluru. Thougha novice as far as Hindi was concerned, I heard the song and was fascinated by its melody, Talat's voice and a beautiful musical score by S.D. Burman. I was hooked to Talat. The song you have mentioned ‘Meri Yadd Mein’ I think is from ‘Madhosh,’ and its music director is Madan Mohan.
I have recordings of almost all Talat songs and it will surprise you to know that I am still a novice in Hindi. Such is the power of music.
Sankaranarayanan,
Chennai
Gopulu,
an inspiration
The article, ‘Artist, as the muse’ written by G. Swaminathan that appeared in Friday Review, May 8, recalled memories. I think it was in 1957, when I was 18 that I first saw the poster of ‘Thillana Mohanambal’ hanging at a Newspaper stall. I stood gazing at it, attracted by the drawing. Then I began to buy Ananda Vikatan , mainly for the illustrations. Like EkaIaiva taking to sage Drona, I started to draw the various characters in an enlarged size paper with the then famous Elephant brand pencil (German made). I drew nearly 15 characters.
One day I went to office, and showed the drawings to Sri Gopulu. After going through them, he appreciated me and patted me on the shoulder. He told me how to improve my skills. He recommended that I learn anatomy first. He mentioned that such books were available at Higginbothams. He asked me to always carry a note book and make sketches of everything I see: a stool or a bench , or a stray dog or the people I meet. He believed that every thing, be it living or non-living, had a character and the artist should be able to bring out that character in his sketches.
Today, as an artist, I draw for various religious magazines like such as Geethacharyan and Vainanvan Kural . The drawings are mostly on Vaishnavite alwars and acharyas. If at all I have reached this level in drawing, all the credit goes to Sri. Gopulu.
S.Vijayaraghavan,
Chennai.