tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post5148969979853991847..comments2024-03-19T01:01:34.335-04:00Comments on Conversations Over Chai: My Favourites: Letters in VerseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-68233097307142188232015-05-29T09:50:12.651-04:002015-05-29T09:50:12.651-04:00Thank you, Annie, you just made my day. :) Welcome...Thank you, Annie, you just made my day. :) Welcome to my blog. I hope you will stay and continue reading.Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-65661369139496167092015-05-29T09:13:08.041-04:002015-05-29T09:13:08.041-04:00I came across this blog today, which appeared as a...I came across this blog today, which appeared as a result of "Songs about Chai", I have never before felt so grateful for Google Search! It Is categorically the best, most elaborate and engrossing blog (on this subject), that I have ever seen. I love it for two reasons, one I have already mentioned above, and the other that my blog is named after my obsession with Chai. I am so glad to meet you :D. I left all my work and listened to the songs from Babar, Chandni Chowk and Sarawastichandra. It felt that it would be a crime if not done immediately, and listening to them just verified that feeling. So thank you very much :) .I don't know too much about all music etc, but I think one song is mention-worthy, Sandesay aatay hain from Border. A song about letters, personifying them, making them almost tangible. Thank you for writing this amazing blog. :)Annie Shamimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-60856103578350733542015-04-17T17:16:02.225-04:002015-04-17T17:16:02.225-04:00Really? What a nice anecdote, and I love that that...Really? What a nice anecdote, and I love that that resulted in that song. Thanks for sharing.Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-30560965819945798782015-04-16T16:01:14.210-04:002015-04-16T16:01:14.210-04:00Kalyanji-Anandji once received a blank letter from...Kalyanji-Anandji once received a blank letter from one of their fans with just a flower enclosed. The end result was that beautiful song from Saraswathichandra, This incident was narrated by Anandji in an interviewKrishnannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-62948977932933292862014-09-02T20:38:07.283-04:002014-09-02T20:38:07.283-04:00The kiddo song is good! :)
I didn't realise ...The kiddo song <i>is</i> good! :) <br /><br />I didn't realise <i>Gum hain kisi ke pyaar mein</i> was a <i>Chitthi</i> song. I don't really like the song from <i>Henna</i>. RK's kids don't have his sense of music.Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-75832883847298503152014-09-02T20:35:18.491-04:002014-09-02T20:35:18.491-04:00I am with you on most of the songs. Love the last ...I am with you on most of the songs. Love the last one the most through. <br />Kids in their element, nonsense words and kids singing too. There are a <br />couple which I would like to add to your list. <br /><br />Gum hai kisi ke pyar mein -- Rampur ka Lakshman. <br />Chtthi aayi hai -- Naam<br />Chitthiye -- Heenazephyrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-50755919634078275982014-09-01T09:51:44.372-04:002014-09-01T09:51:44.372-04:00Mr Venkatraman, here is the link: http://www.lette...Mr Venkatraman, here is the link: http://www.lettersofnote.com/<br /><br />I agree with you about the number of hours in a day.Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-86586858303394134022014-09-01T09:37:29.410-04:002014-09-01T09:37:29.410-04:00Thank You Anu Ji. I wish there were more hours in ...Thank You Anu Ji. I wish there were more hours in a day, I do not know how many more will really be enough.N Venkataramannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-36018397912271713302014-08-31T10:58:51.823-04:002014-08-31T10:58:51.823-04:00Thanks, coolone. :) I had penfriends too, but I do...Thanks, coolone. :) I had penfriends too, but I don't recall it being a status symbol, but I'm older than you, so I guess things changed. We used to collect stamps as well! <br /><br />I don't have an issue with email since I use it solely as an electronic form of writing letters - instead of writing them, I type the words. (Yeah, my emails are long; you should realised that from my posts as well!) I don't like texting, and I try not to do it at all. I'd much rather call. But yes, texting is here to stay. <br /><br /><i>Sirf Tum</i> was quite a decent movie if I remember it right. Didn't it also star Sushmita Sen?Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-5535827016285192992014-08-31T10:55:24.408-04:002014-08-31T10:55:24.408-04:00Meenakshi, I'm glad you enjoyed my writing. Th...Meenakshi, I'm glad you enjoyed my writing. Thank you so much for the appreciation. It does bother me to see the erosion of language as I knew it, but rationally, I suppose, a language has to evolve to remain relevant. It's just that (I feel) the beauty of the language seems to have disappeared. We're fighting a losing battle, but it's a good fight to fight while it lasts. :)Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-74147080224031646462014-08-31T10:51:52.313-04:002014-08-31T10:51:52.313-04:00Thank you, Ashokji. I'm glad you enjoyed the p...Thank you, Ashok<i>ji. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.</i>Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-61543312109075691192014-08-31T10:51:18.083-04:002014-08-31T10:51:18.083-04:00Those letters were beautiful. Mr Venkatraman, ther...Those letters were beautiful. Mr Venkatraman, there is a website where you can read letters by famous people, historical, fictional, and by celebrities. Will post the link when I have some time.Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-75550317474077108222014-08-31T10:49:45.351-04:002014-08-31T10:49:45.351-04:00Mr Venkatraman, thank you so much. :) I'm glad...Mr Venkatraman, thank you so much. :) I'm glad you enjoyed the post and the songs. <br /><br />My father-in-law used to keep carbon copies of his letters. I laughed at your reason for keeping copies of your loveletters, though. I agree it would be an interesting exercise to read through those old letters, especially since you have your letters to refer to as well. You seem to have led a rather charmed youth, what with loveletters and <i>tonga</i> rides... :) Alas, I don't have any letters other than my husband's, and even those were no <i>pranay nivedan</i>. Indeed, I think they were quite prosaic - I'm sure I remember long descriptions of the weather in them. <br /><br />I have not reviewed <i>Love Letters</i>; actually, haven't heard of this film until now. Thanks for the link to the song. And I shall see if I can find the film now.Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-44725928871913202662014-08-31T00:19:27.439-04:002014-08-31T00:19:27.439-04:00Excellent post! Almost all the songs are my favori...Excellent post! Almost all the songs are my favorites! Songs from Babar (1960), that I haven't heard before thanks for the links :) In my childhood pen-friends were a like a 'status' symbol and we children had letters from diverse countries such as erstwhile USSR(Russia), Germany etc.We used to peel off the postage stamps carefully and add it to our philately collection :) Alas! now text messaging and e-mail has taken over(they still have some advantages) .One of the commenters has mentioned a fantastic ghazal from Mirza Ghalib,which brought old memories back of good old DD serials such as Kabir,Nirmala.<br /><br /><br />As almost all the songs based on the theme are mentioned in the comments,I only could think of this song about two pen friends from Sirf Tum (1999)<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryvM2dciBcscoolone160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-35476909916791030052014-08-31T00:15:58.463-04:002014-08-31T00:15:58.463-04:00Such a blast from the past. 'Letters from fath...Such a blast from the past. 'Letters from father to daughter'! Remember?<br />Letters are history I suppose considering people only communicate through emoticons. <br />The thing that saddens me is the slow but sure erosion into the language whether English or vernacular. Sometimes I think that these generations are losing out on the careful links that written expression creates between the heart and the mind. The joy of feeling the texture of a well written piece with a rare blend of language goes a long way in unfurling a whole lot of positive emotions related to reloading of the matrix of memories and personal experience. <br />My medical students often ask me what I would have done if I had not trained to be a doctor. I say almost wistfully, 'English Literature '. I remember the afternoons all those years ago when for some reason a series of Shakespeare's plays were telecast on BBC. Black & white and doordarshan! The eighties or was it?<br />Anyways, loved your piece Anu.<br /><br />MeenakshiMeenakshinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-36024068595420990642014-08-30T13:19:33.410-04:002014-08-30T13:19:33.410-04:00WOW ! you have brought up a highly specialized gen...WOW ! you have brought up a highly specialized genre of songs, and done it so brilliantly.<br />Thoroughly enjoyed the post.Ashok M Vaishnavhttp://amvaishnav.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-34753348810950650812014-08-30T12:29:05.904-04:002014-08-30T12:29:05.904-04:00It was heart-rending. I ended up weeping over the ...It was heart-rending. I ended up weeping over the last few.Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-2585263402118797612014-08-30T10:33:47.724-04:002014-08-30T10:33:47.724-04:00Mr.V
She wrote thousands of letters to him over...Mr.V<br /> She wrote thousands of letters to him over the course of a long relationship.This penultimate letter of hers was written when she was 77. She would be dead the following year buried in an unmarked tomb the following year.<br /><br />"BELOVED, thank you for taking me to-day to the mournful and sweet rendezvous of St. Mande. <br />I feel as if my sorrow would be less bitter, kneel- ing at my child's grave than when I am at a dis- tance ... as if my soul could get closer to that of my little beloved, through the earth of her tomb, than anywhere else. I hope you will find your dear daughter in good health and that we shall both return from this sacred errand re-signed to the will of God, though not consoled, for that is no longer possible in this world. Thank you again, my adored one, for sharing with me a sad anniversary, that recalls to you the many sorrows of your own life. I am very grateful to you and I bless you as I love you, with all the strength of my soul. J. "<br /><br />Her daughter (not by Hugo though he took care of her) had died years earlier and was buried in St.Mande, and Hugo's own daughter Adele was committed to an asylum, hence the reference.SSWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-87724829929971047782014-08-30T09:52:48.013-04:002014-08-30T09:52:48.013-04:00SSW Ji,
Believe me I was trying be faithful to all...SSW Ji,<br />Believe me I was trying be faithful to all of them. I would never hurt any of those tender souls (I used to believe then) and that proved to be my bane! Writing was not my cup of tea, which is why I had to respond (resort)to music. <br /><br />Juliette Drouet must have been a very passionate and melodramatic lover, may be very possessive too. I would try reading those letters sometime in future.There must be few more. Thanks for the song by Beatles.N Venkataramannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-19286857324258907272014-08-30T08:28:39.874-04:002014-08-30T08:28:39.874-04:00Mr. Venkataraman did you write letters like Juliet...Mr. Venkataraman did you write letters like Juliette Drouet wrote to Victor Hugo.. Here is an excerpt o from the second letter she wrote to him.<br /><br /><br />"I love you because I love you, because it would be impossible for me not to love you. I love you <br />without question, without calculation, without reason good or bad, faithfully, with all my heart <br />and soul, and every faculty. Believe it, for it is true. If you cannot believe, I being at your side, <br />I will make a drastic effort to force you to do so. I shall have the mournful satisfaction of sacri- <br />ficing myself utterly to a distrust as absurd as it is unfounded. "<br /><br />More serioulsy her letters display a talent for writing that sadly she never exploited except in these missives. It also shows how under Code Napoleon in France female children of parents with modest means could learn to read and write, something which was inconceivable in Europe just a few years before. The translated letters are available under Project Gutenberg.<br /><br />There is this song by the Beatles . I'm afraid as a small boy I used it to tease our neighbour's particularly virulent Alsatian. When I caterwauled "you you youuuuuu" his hackles would rise. He was not a lover.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p41xLRmEPoYSSWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-47563774342282074542014-08-30T01:16:25.061-04:002014-08-30T01:16:25.061-04:00Come to think of it, I rarely had letters go astra...Come to think of it, I rarely had letters go astray, but <i>when</i> a letter would arrive was the problem. <br /><br />But my parents, who lived in Meerut till very recently, actually embraced the Net because every time they used the postal service (mostly for cards; they otherwise used the phone) - their cards <i>never</i> arrived. Eventually they stopped sending out Christmas or birthday cards.dustedoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-6107710492182952062014-08-30T01:13:59.258-04:002014-08-30T01:13:59.258-04:00Lalitha, as it happens, one of my favourite people...Lalitha, as it happens, one of my favourite people in the world - my mum's best friend's husband (also the father of two of my oldest friends - we grew up together) was in the Indian Postal Service too. But he had no illusions about his department. ;-)dustedoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-91627978021364680642014-08-30T01:12:28.351-04:002014-08-30T01:12:28.351-04:00Safia's letters were beautiful, yes. And, espe...Safia's letters <i>were</i> beautiful, yes. And, especially towards the end, as one 'saw' her getting more and more ill - so heart-rending too, even though she seemed to put up a brave face through it all.dustedoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-53071848071321026902014-08-29T18:38:12.384-04:002014-08-29T18:38:12.384-04:00You're so right about classic cinema having so...You're so right about classic cinema having songs for any (and every!) occasion. I'm doubly glad because I get <i>so</i> many 'themed' lists out of those situations. :) <br /><br /><br /><br />Another letter writer? 'Come into my arms', she said! :)Anu Warrierhttp://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309362817539389132.post-74300757972847501812014-08-29T14:54:45.324-04:002014-08-29T14:54:45.324-04:00Another reason why classic cinema is awesome: ther...Another reason why classic cinema is awesome: there's a song for virtually every situation. And sometimes, such songs preserve lost arts or lost values (like letter writing). I was a prolific letter writer, once upon a time, but somewhere along the way, that habit got consumed by "easier" social media. This post makes me want to take up my pen again, this time, to music. :)Filmi~Contrasthttp://filmi-contrast.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com