Dreams and Realizations

Saturday, July 25, 2009

A legend lives on - Uttam Kumar

This is a tribute to my screen hero, the ever green Uttam Kumar - the first and only true Superstar that Bengal cinema has ever seen. He had expired on 24th of July' 1980. I share with you some of the very best on-screen melodies that this screen god had featured in. Transcending boundaries of culture, language, region and religion, these songs are said to touch the hearts of millions. Let me know if they touched a soft corner of your heart as well.

1.
Song: Ei poth jodi na sesh hoy
Movie: Saptapadi
Singers: Hemanta Mukherjee, Sandhya Mukherjee

2.
Song: Ami je jolshaghore
Movie: Antony Firingi
Singer: Manna Dey

3.
Song: Saono raate jodi
Movie: Devdaas
Singer: Manna Dey

4.
Song: Boro eka laagey
Movie: Chowringhee
Singer: Manna De

5.
Song: Surer akashe
Movie: Saap mochon
Singer: Hemanta Mukherjee

6.
Song: Gaane bhubon bhoriye debe
Movie: Deya neya
Singer: Shyamal Mitra

Song: Jhor uthechhe baaul batas
Movie: Saap mochon
Singer: Hemanta Mukherjee

8.

Song: Dole dodul dole jhulona
Movie: Deya neya
Singer: Shyamal Mitra, Manabendra Mukhopadhyay

9.

Song: Jibon khatar proti patai
Movie: Deya neya
Singer: Shyamal Mitra

10.

Song: Amar sopne dekha rajkonya thaake
Movie: Sagarika
Singer: Shyamal Mitra

11.

Song: Nir chhoto khoti nei
Movie: Indrani
Singer: Hemanta Mukherjee, Sandhya Mukherjee

12.

Song: E ki holo keno holo
Movie: Rajkumari
Singer: Kishore Kumar

13.

Song: Champa chameli golaper i baage
Movie: Antony firingi
Singer: Manna Dey, Sandhya Mukherjee

14.

Song: Surjo dobaar pala
Movie: Indrani
Singer: Hemanta Mukheree

15.

Song: Jai chole jaai (Adieu!)
Movie: Kal tumi aaleya
Singer: Hemanta Mukheree
Music: Uttam Kumar

Friends, there are hundreds of other tracks featuring him, but these are the selected best based on popularity as well as availability. Enjoy the tracks! Never mind if you do not happen to know bengali. I hope the tunes will catch your fancy.

Image source: http://nphoto-media-1.cdn.mobshare.in

Missions to the moon - then and now

The moon has fascinated us since ages. From being regarded as some sort of a God to being a mere natural satellite revolving around the earth, mankind has come a long way in his perceptions concerning the moon. There have already been multiple expeditions to the moon. And here is something that I found out while going through Yahoo news this morning. It is about the first successful expedition - the Apollo 11 mission. Suddenly out of the blue, a lot of secrets are being revealed. It is debatable as to how much is really true and how much is not. Nevertheless, all of these make for an interesting read. Here is the excerpt:

So, 40 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, here are some of the facts that you probably didn't know about the historic event:

1. Aldrin took secret communion: Before leaving the Apollo 11 moon-landing module, US astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin took a Christian Communion, including a wafer and a thimbleful of wine from a kit prepared by his pastor.
Neil Armstrong "watched respectfully, but made no comment to me at the time," Aldrin recalled.

Atheism advocate Madelyn Murray O'Hair, who objected to government employees praying publicly, was suing NASA at the time, so Aldrin kept the act private.

2. Mementos left on Moon: Along with their backpacks, an American flag, and half the Apollo 11 moon-landing module, Armstrong and Aldrin left some sentimental mementos on the surface of the moon, including, a patch from the never-launched Apollo 1 mission, which ended prematurely when flames engulfed the command module during a 1967 training exercise, killing three US astronauts.

The mementos also included medals commemorating pioneering Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin, who had died in flight in 1967 and 1968, respectively; goodwill messages from 73 world leaders; and a small gold pin shaped like an olive branch, a symbol of peace.

3. US President had speech ready in case of disaster: President Richard Nixon's speechwriter William Safire wrote a speech in case the Apollo 11 moonwalkers missed the rendezvous with the orbiting command module to return to Earth.

Among the sentiments: "These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But, they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice."

4. Between homecoming and oblivion may have stood a pen: While on the moon, one of the astronauts knocked loose the circuit breaker responsible for igniting the engine that would propel the Apollo 11 astronauts back to the orbiting command module-their only ride home. The interesting fact bout the incident is that Aldrin used a felt tip pen to push the breaker back into place.

5. American flag bit the dust: As the Apollo 11 astronauts blasted off from the moon, flying dust and debris toppled the first American flag planted on the moon. (ANI)

With respect to expeditions to the Moon, not too long back, India's very own formidable mission Chandrayan-1 suffered a terrific setback when one of its key sensors stopped functioning. Although, the ISRO scientists claimed that this would not abort the mission as of now, it could potentially do so in the future. But, it has been claimed that 90 percent of the mission objectives have already been achieved over a period of the last 8 months.

Here is a slideshow, courtesy Sanjana, featuring this very interesting but lifeless natural satellite which you will probably like. If the slideshow does not run automatically, click on the thumbnails on the right hand for a view of some of the most historic pictures concerning the Moon.

Image source: http://static.howstuffworks.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Alphabetical Tagging

I have been tagged by Pawan! And this one seems rather interesting to me... based on alphabets. These are the rules:

Link the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Share the ABCs of you.
Tag 3 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
Let the 3 tagged people know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so that there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag!

ABC of my life:
1. A – Available/Single?

Ans: Single
2. B – Best friend?

Ans: Many good friends. Impossible to pinpoint a single one/two.
3. C – Cake or Pie?

Ans: Enough of both.
4. D – Drink of choice?

Ans: Well boiled milk with malai.
5. E – Essential item you use every day?

Ans: Cell phone, Go-gear.
6. F – Favorite color?

Ans: Blue
7. G – Gummy Bears Or Worms?

Ans: None
8. H – Hometown?

Ans: Kolkata
9. I – Indulgence?

Ans: Blogging at the moment. It varies over an extended period of time.
10. J – January or February?

Ans: February - this month has been quite lucky for me.
11. K – Kids & their names?

Ans: Haven't thought of marriage yet. Forget kids and their names.
12. L – Life is incomplete without?