Talat Mahmood - singer unnoticed by India Post…

 

 

Hain Sab se Madhur Woh Geet Jinhen Hum Dard ke sur men Gate Hain…..

9th May is the death anniversary of  great Gahazal King Talat Mahmood whose soft velvety voice touched millions of hearts. His unforgettable songs “ Jalte Hain Jiske Liye”…Hain sab se Madhur woh Geet  Jinhen Hum Dard Ke sur men Gate Hain..are still remembered…

With Talat Mahmood at a Music Concert - Kanpur 1989

While writing this post about the great singer..I remember a music concert at Kanpur when I met him. Here is the photo of a concert at Kanpur held in 1989. From my school days I was a great fan of him and here I am pleased to share photo with his autograph given to me !!  His voice had always given me an extraordinary  cool and soft feeling ……That’s why I  love his songs…… As a person he was as gentle as his soft voice….I am proud to have a personal letter written by Talat Mahmood  to me…of course at that time I was too young and normally school and college students at that time  did not like to listen to old singers as it was the time of Jagjit Singh Pankaj Udhas and Talat Aziz… However Kishore Rafi Mukesh Lata Asha and Hemant were always popular with all and even today .…..My taste was quite different from my friends of my age group….With new songs I also loved to listen old songs…. I  wish to share here that How I developed a liking for old songs it is only because of my Uncle Dr Rakesh Pratap Singh who has the finest collection of  Hindi Film songs in India on 78 R.P.M. Gramophone Records cassettes and now on CDs ! Now he has prepared a complete digital data of the songs chronologically and artiste wise ! In his collection he has some very rare songs on 78 RPM records which are not available any where. I got a chance to listen old songs from the very young age…..But today the time has changed …… new songs come and go…but a good music  always leaves an impact on the listener’s ears…Those songs are never forgotten and remembered always…!!   

This Post is a tribute to the great singer Talat Mahmood and I have an earnest request to India Post  to issue a commemorative stamp on him !!

Talat Mahmood (February 24, 1924 – May 9, 1998) was a popular Indian playback singer and film actor. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 1992, he had a unique style of singing. He was famous for singing ghazals. He was honored with the First 'BEGUM AKHTAR AWARD' in 1975 for ghazal singing .His voice was full of pathos and emotions and his flawless rendering of songs always touched the heart of people.

Like his other contemporary singers he was never tempted to sing the sub-standard lyrics only for the sake of money.

In August 1991, Dr. Rakesh Pratap Singh of Kanpur, published his compilation of all the film and non-film songs, geet, ghazals,etc.sung by Shri Talat Mahmood,named as"TALAT GEET KOSH".This book was releasdd by Talat Mahmood and Naushad at Talat Saheb's residence in Bandra,Mumbai.

Indian Postage Stamps have already released  stamps to commemorate the works of his contemporary singers: Hemant Kumar, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar and Mohd Rafi.Therefore we all music lovers of India strongly recommend for the release of a 'Postage Stamp' in memory of great singer Talat Mahmood.

 

Talat Mahnood

'King of Ghazals' Talat Mahmood was born in a highly cultured but conservative family in Lucknow, India, on Feb. 24, 1924. Talat showed his musical leanings from a very young age and would enjoy sitting through all-night music soiree's listening patiently to some of the biggest names in Indian classical music. Later, for a very short period of time Talat studied music at Marris Music College, before people began noticing his natural singing talent and offers to sing began to pour in.

Talat Mahmood began his music career at the young age of 16 when he began singing the ghazals of Ghalib, Dagh, Mir and Jigar on All India Radio, Lucknow. His voice had a quality distinct from all other singers. HMV was quick to notice this and offered Talat his first disc in 1941, "Sab din ek samaan nahin tha, ban jaoonga kya se kya main, iska to kuch dhyan nahin tha". Indeed how prophetic were these words. Little did Talat know that he was soon to rise to become the greatest name in ghazals on the Indian sub-continent !

In 1944 came the smash hit "Tasveer teri dil mera behela na sakegi". It took the country by storm. It's popularity was so phenomenal and unrivalled that even today it remains one of the biggest non-film hits! This disc brought Talat fame throughout India and soon he was beckoned by the Calcutta Film Industry, which was then the premiere hub of film production in the 40's. Apart from singing many hits, Talat also acted in the first 3 of his 13 films there - "RAJLAXMI", "TUM AUR MAIN" and "SAMAPTI".

But fate had even bigger things in store for Talat and in 1949 he came to the Hollywood of India - Mumbai. His name and fame had already preceded him and people in the Mumbai Film Industry were already aware of this handsome and talented young singer and soon he was offered the song "Ae dil mujhe aisi jagha le chal jahan koi na ho" composed by the then reigning music director Anil Biswas and picturised  on the great Dilip Kumar. The combination was electrifying ! The record was an overnight success and set the trend for the filmi ghazal.

In Talat Mahmood, the music directors  found the perfect voice for ghazals. His diction and intonation were word perfect. His expressive style and emotional nuances were unparalleled. The mellowness, sweetness and pathos in his voice set him apart from all the other singers. Here was a voice that was fresh !  The style absolutely new !!  He was unanimously hailed as "The King Of Ghazals", a title  he consolidated over the period of years to become the greatest name in ghazals !!!  His film solo's and romantic duets numbered in hundreds as hit after hit followed. Talat soon grew into a living legend.

However, the handsome young  'King of Ghazals' did not go unnoticed by the film producers, who besieged him with offers to act in their films. Such was Talat's aura, that for his film 'Dil-e-Nadaan', producer-director A.R. Kardar, launched an 'All India Beauty Contest' to hunt for a beautiful girl who would play the heroine opposite the young and immensely talented superstar Talat Mahmood !!!  Talat was to finally accept 13 films with top heroines like Nutan, Mala Sinha, Suraiya, Shyama, Nadira and others before he decided that acting was not his forte.  And hence, Talat gave up acting to concentrate on singing.

Pyar Par Bas to Nahin one of my favourite songs of film Sone Ki Chidiya . This song is picturised on Talat Mahmood and Nutan.

Towards the late 60's the filmi ghazals and good romantic songs gave way to the electronic rhythms of the disco generation. Disliking the new trend towards loud meaningless music, Talat decided to cut down his film singing assignments but continued his non-film ghazal recordings.

As a singer, Talat has already secured a place in history. Over the years, the King of Ghazals has created a catalogue of songs for generations to come. His fan following straddles the globe. He strides like a colossus in the field of ghazals - a KING whose name is surpassed by none !!!

Talat Geet Kosh :

A Catalogue of all songs of Talat Mahmood

by Dr Rakesh Pratap Singh

This is a complete book on songs of Talat Mahmood. The book includes film and non film songs of Talat in Hindi and other regional languages. The book is available with the author.  Those interested in this book may contact Mr Rakesh Pratap Singh Email : rakeshpsingh@yahoo.com Ph 09450141410

Author with Talat Mahmood

 

 

Read more about of Talat Mahmood :  A Golden Voice Talat Mahmood

View : Ek Shaam Talat Ji Ke saath

: Dr R C MIshra – Kanpur  - Blog : Life And Music

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New special cover from Orissa

 

Diamand Jubilee Celebrtation of Capital High School, Bhubaneshwar

28 April 2012 - Bhubneshwar

Capital High School, Unit-III, is the oldest legendary Educational Institution, established in the year 1951 and has proved its magnificence in the history of Education with its multidimensional talents of the receptive brains throughout Odisha.

It was formerly housed in Unit-II Girls' High School and is subsequently running in Unit-III with pride. This Premier Institution has extended its educational arena to the whole of Odisha with lots of Cultural heritage. This school has completed 60 years of its establishment. To mark the occasion of Diamond Jubilee a special cover was released on 28.04.12 in the school premises.

  Ajit Kumar Dash, Bhubaneswar email : akdash2000@gmail.com

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Books on Philately

 

 

     

Hi ! I am giving here the list of books on Philately, compiled by Dr Bibhudutta Mishra, Bhubaneshwar. Readers may send the names of books which have not been mentioned in the list . It will be included in the list and re published on the blog.

 

List of Indian Books on Philately

Sl. No	Name of Books	Author	Publisher	Year of Publication	Price Rs & Lang.
1	The Post Office of India	Ananda Gopal Sen		1875
2	Postal History & Practice	I G J Hamilton		1910
3	Early Indian Cancellations	Jal Cooper		1948, facsimile reprint, 1995
4	India Used Abroad.	Jal COOPER		1950 100pp.
5	Story of the Indian Post Office	Mulk Raj Anand		1955
6	Post Card Catalogue of India and Indian States 1879 - 1979	Madhukar Jhingan		1979
7	Army Post Office & Philately (A Selection of Philatelic Articles)	Brig D S Virk		1980
8	Hyderabad Philatelic History	M A Nayeem		1980
9	Gwalior	Prof V K Gupta		1980
10	Essays on Postal History	several authors		1980
11	From the Diary of Stephen Smith	D N Jatia		1980
12	Indian Army Post Offices in Second World War	Brig D S Virk		1982
13	Slogans and Special Postmarks of India 1875-1947	Ashok Kumar Bayanwala		1982
14	India used Abroad	Vispi S Dastur		1982
15	Postal Censorship in India	Brig D S Virk		1983
16	Postal History of Zemindari Dawk	M L Majumdar		1984
17	Madras GPO Earlier Postal History of Madras Presidency	M M Inamdar		1986
18	Bombay GPO Earlier Postal History of Bombay Presidency	M M Inamdar		1986
19	Local Postal Service of Thikana Khetri (Jaipur State) and Its Fiscals	O P Bhatnagar		1988
20	Postal History of Indian Campaigns :Sikkim - Tibet 1903 -1908	Brig D S Virk et el.		1989
21	A Study of East India Half Anna Stamp	Dr A Y Kantharia		1989
22	Bibliography - Indian Philately			1989
23	Ajmer Postal History	J M Dhor & T C Ranjan		1989
24	Registration Receipts & Acknowledgment Forms of Indian Post Office	Col. L G Shenoi		1989
25	Imperial Post Offices of British India	M L Majumdar	2 volumes	1990
26	Philately	S.P.Chatterjee	NCERT, New Delhi	1990 94 pages	26.50 (English)
27	Indian Postal History 1873 - 1923	Brig. D S Virk		1991
28	Postal History of Indian Campaigns :China Expeditionary Force 1900 -1923	Brig D S Virk et el.		1992
29	Early History and Growth of Postal System in India	M L Majumdar		1995
30	Philately for the young	Mathew Varki	Children’s BookTrust, New Delhi	1996 100 pages	50.00 (English)
31	Indian Telegraphs 1851 - 1914 Philatelic & Operational History	I Patel & D Desai		1996
32	Conservation, restoration and Philatelic Chemistry	Prof V K Gupta		1997 208 pages	1500.00
33	Classics of India	G B Pai		1997
34	The Scinde Dawks & Lithographs of India	D E Wadia		1997
35	Stamps of Indian Native States	P M Medhora		1997
36	Thematic Philately	Prof V K Gupta		192 pages	250.00
37	Calcutta GPO	M L Majumdar		1998
38	Indian Airgraphs	Manohar Lal		1999
39
40	Brahmini Dawk: History of Postal Communication in Mewar	R K Sarawagi & M Deogawanka		1999
41	Sorath Stamps & Postal History	R A Malaviya		1999
42	Collecting Stamps	Balchand and Jaya Pai	Children's Book Trust, New Delhi, India	1999	20.00
43	India's Bi-colored Four Annas 1854	D N Jatia		2000
44	How to collect stamp	A.S.Mittal	Adarsha Prakashan, Jaipur	2000	25.00 (English)
45	A Brief History of the Army Postal Service Corps,	Brig S K Sen		2002
46	An Approach to History of Post Office in India and Other Essays	Shivnath		2002
47	Hand Book of Philately	Secretary, Dept. of Post, Govt. of India	Dept. of Post	2003 60 pages	16.00 (English)
48	Dakatikata Sangraha Kaise Karein	A.S.Mittal	Adarsha Prakashan, Jaipur	2004	20.00 (Hindi)
49	Milepost	West Bengal Circle India Post		2005
50	Stamp collecting today	Sangeeta Devgawanka	Vasundhara Publication, Kolkatta	2005 73 pages	96.00 (English)
51	Gandhi Handbook	Manik Jain & Mrinal Kanti Ray		2006
52	Window to Philately	B.Padmini	Sura Books Pvt. Ltd., Chennai	2007 124 pages	70.00 (English)
53	Stamp Quizzes-A handbook of Philatelic Trivia & Quizzes	Anil Dhir	Amadeus Press, Bhubaneswar	2007 244 pages	300/- (English)
54	Nature through Postage Stamps	Dept. Of Post New Delhi		2007	175.00
55	Indian Freedom Struggle through Postage Stamps	Dept. Of Post		2007	500.00
56	Stamps of India -Gandhi	Dept. Of Post		2007	200.00
57	Discover India through Philately	Dept. Of Post		2007	600.00
58	1857 – Through India Postage Stamps	Dept. Of Post		2007	400.00
59	India Post-A journey through ages	Aravinda Kumar Singh Translated- Shailendra Das	National Book Trust, New Delhi 978-81-237-5592-2	2009 485 pages	150/- (English)
60	Uttarakhand - A Philatelic Journey	Abhai Mishra & Rajesh Varma		2009
61	India's Freedom Struggle Through India Postage Stamps	Vishnu S Saksena
62	Famous stamps-The romance of rarities	Anil Dhir	Amadeus Press, Bhubaneswar	2011 192 pages	200.00 (English)
63	Dakatikata Sangraha	Bibhudatta Mishra & Shanti swarup Rath	Grantha Mandir, Cuttack	2011 130 pages	80.00 (Oriya)
64	My rainbow of Philatelic Articles	Dr Satyandra Kumar Aggarwal	Phila gold Publication	2011 150 pages	1200.00
65	Anche Janapad	Mr M.R.Pravakar	Karnatak	2012	150.00
66	Know Your Stamps	D.Chakravarthy	Chakravarthy, 1-C Gayathri Apartments, 302 James Long Sarani, PO Jokha,   WB 743512, India
67.	A Guide to Modern Indian Postal Stationery, 1947-2003	Prashant Pandya	Vadodara		Rs 400 US $ 20.00

- Dr Bibhudatta Mishra – Bhubaneshwar

Blog : http://fishstamplover.blogspot.in/

Club News

Guinness Records to  Daniel Monteiro

Brahmavar: Daniel Monteiro, Office Asst. of St. Mary’s Syrian College here has secured ‘Guinness World Records’ for his largest collection of stamps featuring birds. His total collection consists of 4911 stamps from 263 countries. The old record was in the name of Mr. Paul-Erwin Oswald of Germany.

Mr.Daniel made an attempt for this record by organizing a major philatelic exhibition Birdpex-2011’ on 7^th and 8^th December 2011 at S.M.S. community hall, Brahmavar. More than 6000 people including VIPS, Juries, stamp collectors participated in this event.

Daniel began the hobby of collecting stamps at the age of 11 (year 1973). In the Primary School, when a teacher encouraged Daniel and his other classmates to develop any one of the hobbies, the collection of stamps attracted Daniel. He began by collecting stamps of all types and then went on to specialize in water birds, which aroused his interest in them so much. Since his house is surrounded by a river and a lake with variety of water birds, he took special interest in them.

Later he also took to ornithological studies, Bird watching and Environment protection activities. The awards, distinctions and recognitions he won are numerous, 10 international level from Belgium, Austria, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok , Korea, Indonesia, China and India, 21 national level and 13 state level and from 31 prestigious institutions in Karnataka State, including All India Sahitya Convention Award, District Rajyaotsava Award, Vishveshvarayya Award, Ambedkar award, Extraordinary Personality of Konkani Award.

Daniel’s another noteworthy achievement was his entry into the ‘Limca Book of Records’ a due recognition for his rare collection of ducks stamps and also three records in ‘India Book Of Records’ for largest collection of ducks stamps, largest collection of birds stamps and one man largest exhibition, Birdpex-2011.

He is also a member of all the recognized Philatelic Associations in India. He has, on his own initiative, organized 163 exhibitions on Philately and 31 workshops on environment and philately till date, and also actively involved himself in creating an awareness about wild life and the need to protect the environment. He has presented papers on birds and stamps at seminars held, even at the national level. Mr. Daniel Monteiro loves to talk to children about birds and stamps, and this he does by organizing workshops, exhibitions and competitions for school children and college students.

Daniel Monteiro  may be contacted at email : danielbvr@yahoo.com

 

 

CRICKET WORLD CUP - A STAMP COLLECTION

COLLECTOR'S BOOK

This book is a journey into the history of World Cup cricket. It begins with a brief introduction of the World Cup Cricket starting from first world Cup played in 1975 to the recently concluded one in 2011. The book then covers cricketing history of 9 Test playing Nations and participating nations in 2011 Cricket world cup. Finally book journeys into the world of cricket memorabilia like stamps, special covers, coins, medals, cricket bats, cricket kits etc.

Housed in this informative album, the collection of 10 postal sheets featuring 9 test playing nations and captains of world cup teams issued during world cup 2011 by postal departments of Caribbean island nations - St. Kitts, Nevis and St. Vincent.

Price : INR - 2,499.00  For more details contact :

Pradip Jain, POST BOX 128, MITHAPUR, PATNA 800 001 (INDIA)

PH:   0091-612-2215929, FAX: 0091-612-2238010

Mobile : 0091-93341 32162, EMAIL: philapradip@gmail.com

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Tributes to the greatest Indian Poet - Tagore

 

 

Pride of India

 

7 May – Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore

Today is Birth Anniversary of  Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. This post is a tribute to the greatest poet of all time and  Pride of India . The post is dedicated to all those who love and admire the works of Tagore !!  Tagore has been honoured on postage stamps issued  by many postal administrations of the world .

    

Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), also known by the sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali mystic, Brahmo poet, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He became Asia's first Nobel laureate when he won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature.

 

The government of Sri Lanka released on May 7 2011, a postal stamp  on Rabindranath Tagore, on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary celebrations.

A Pirali Brahmin from Calcutta Tagore first wrote poems at the age of eight. At the age of sixteen, he published his first substantial poetry under the pseudonym Bhanushingho ("Sun Lion") and wrote his first short stories and dramas in 1877. In later life Tagore protested strongly against the British Raj and gave his support to the Indian Independence Movement. Tagore's life work endures, in the form of his poetry and the institution he founded, Visva-Bharati University.

Tagore wrote novels, short stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays on political and personal topics. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are among his best-known works. His verse, short stories, and novels, which often exhibited rhythmic lyricism, colloquial language, meditative naturalism, and philosophical contemplation, received worldwide acclaim.

Tagore was also a cultural reformer and polymath who modernised Bengali art by rejecting strictures binding it to classical Indian forms. Two songs from his canon are now the national anthems of Bangladesh and India: the Amar Shonar Bangla and the Jana Gana Mana respectively.

 

 

Farewell My Friend...

 

Farewell My Friend
It was beautiful as long as it lasted
The journey of my life.
I have no regrets whatsoever
save the pain I'll leave behind.
Those dear hearts who love and care...
And the strings pulling at the heart and soul...
The strong arms that held me up
When my own strength let me down.
At every turning of my life I came across good friends,
Friends who stood by me,
Even when the time raced me by.
Farewell, farewell my friends
I smile and bid you goodbye.
No, shed no tears for I need them not
All I need is your smile.
If you feel sad do think of me
for that's what I'll like when you live in the hearts
of those you love, remember then
you never die.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

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Vesakha festival…

 

 

 

Today is Buddha Purnima also known as Vesakha or Vesak. Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti or Vesākha is the most sacred occasion for the Buddhists. As per Hindu Mythology Lord Buddha is believed to be the 9th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. One among the most important festivals, Buddha Purnima is celebrated on the full moon day of the Vaishaaka lunar month (that corresponds to the month of April-May).

This is a special day when Buddhists all over the world commemorate events of the birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautum Buddha. Initially Buddhism spread from India and gradually assimilated into many foreign cultures, therefore Buddha Purnima is celebrated in many different ways all over the world.

In most of the Buddhist countries the cities, villages, roads, streets, temples and houses are brightly illuminated with colorful Lanterns, electric lights and beautiful decorations. In India, pilgrims come from all over the world to Bodh Gaya to attend the Buddha Purnima celebrations. The Mahabodhi Temple wears a festive look and is decorated with colorful flags and flowers.

On this day devout Buddhist and followers wear only white clothes. They gather in their Viharas or temples before dawn for the ceremonial, honorable- hoisting of the Buddhist Flag and the singing of hymns in praise of the Holy Triple Gem: The Buddha, The Dharma (his teachings), and The Sagha (his disciples). On this day, the Buddhists free birds and animals from cages, distribute fruit and clothes to poor and sick.

Offerings in form of incense, flowers, candles and fruits are made before Lord Buddha’s Statue. These symbolic offerings are to remind followers that just as flowers- fruits will parish after a short while, the candles and incense sticks would burn out, so the life is subject to decay and destruction.Followers should reaffirm faith in the five principles called 'Panch Sheel'. These are- not to take life, not to steal, not to lie, not to imbibe liquor or other intoxicants and not to commit adultery.

In most of the Buddhist countries the villages, roads, streets, temples and houses are brightly illuminated with color Lanterns, electric lights and colorful decorations. In India, pilgrims come from all over the world to Bodh Gaya to attend the Buddha Purnima celebrations. The Mahabodhi Temple wears a festive look and is decorated with colorful flags and flowers.

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Read : Vesak

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Stamps on Titanic..

 

 

 

100 Years of Titanic Disasters

The 15th of April, 2012,  marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S Titanic The Titanic disaster remains one of the most vivid ones in human history and its hundredth year has seen a spate of commemorative activity in 2012. Apart from the release of the Titanic 3D movie in early April, number of postal administrations have issued stamps to mark this tragic event. Here are some more issues in this series…

 

View more stamps on Titanic issued this year :

Centenary of Titanic 1912 - 2012 (virtual collection) 

: R. Kasinath

Niger

Angola

Gambia

 

 

  

St. Vincent & The Grenadines

Maldives

  : Ashwani Dubey - Gorakhpur

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