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When you travel down memory lane there is nothing to keep you from
immersing yourself in the days gone by. Perhaps the most philosophical element
in nostalgia is the rich quality of thought that remembers a time when culture
and tradition reigned over society in quaint ways of decorum.
Nostalgia is best felt through music. The most influential form of
entertainment in most homes was music. Rather than watch some non descript
program on that black and white television, we waited for lunch time variety
and Sunday’s Musical Bandbox with Jija Bhattacharya. Who can forget the 6pm yuvavani program of
western music of all India radio? Regardless of all the FM programs of today,
none can conjure up an image that induce a heart-warming emotion than the words musical band box. Even the children’s
special was much awaited when he heard songs like Puff the magic dragon and “My
sweet Rosalie”. Can anyone forget Georgy Girl and Usha Uthup singing Beautiful
Sunday or Terry Jacks singing Seasons
in the Sun?
But before I ramble on with the nostalgic parade, every Anglo Indian is
familiar with this man. What I remember most about this song is those large
valve gramophones which existed in almost every home. It had a beautiful
cabinet for records and Englebert just had to be there. This song is iconic.
As a young boy I loved the song Puff
the magic dragon and always wondered who sang it. Later I came to know it
was none other than Peter, Paul and Mary, the American folk group formed in 1961.
Puff the Magic Dragon was a regular
on MBB and Lunch Time Variety.
Georgy Girl was a classic. I remember hearing it every Sunday and it was
somewhat pleasant when hearing this song from the radio. Sung by Judith Durham
of the Australian band The Seekers, It went on to win a golden globe award but lost
the Oscar to another iconic song Born Free. The Seekers have a special place in
the hearts of Calcuttan’s as we remember those beautiful songs like I’ll Never Find Another You, The Carnival is Over
When Neil Sedaka exploded on to the music scene in the sixties, Calcuttan’s
would soon come to know about him through one of their favourite songs Oh
Carol. Not many know that Neil Sedaka’s mother toiled through two jobs just to
buy him a piano. He would soon go on to graduating from the Julliard school of
Music. Oh Carol will always be a part of memory lane and is still a favorite today.
I
will always remember this song which became a huge hit in the 70’s. Terry jacks
phenomenal hit Seasons in The Sun went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide. The song was again
made famous by Westlife but it will always be The Terry jacks version that I
will fondly remember.
Like the seekers, Musical Bandbox would showcase another song heard
frequently at lunch time. Who remembers The Mamas and The Papas and the song California Dreamin’? It went down in history
as Rolling Stones 50 greatest songs of all time. The song has rightfully achieved
its place in the Grammy hall of Fame.
Lunch time variety and Musical Bandbox may have played the new releases
a bit late but when we heard those beautiful numbers like Cliff Richards Evergreen Tree,Paul Anka’s Diana and Ritchie Valens Donna, it cemented within us memories that
would never fade. Each time I hear these songs, I recall the sights and scents
of days gone by. Here’s another iconic song that may have lost the Grammy to
Stevie Wonder on its launch but it went on to win the grammy for record of the
year in 1974. It was Roberta Flack’s Killing Me
Softly.
No compilation of music remembering the good old seventies
can ever be complete without mentioning the King. Calcutta fell in love with
Elvis ever since Jailhouse Rock exploded
in movie theaters in Calcutta. I was born ten years later but I’m sure it
released in the Metro on Chowringhee because it was produced for MGM. Metro was
at the time an MGM exclusive theatre as was The Globe theater in Sudder Street
exclusively for 20th century Fox.
The Wonder of You will always be
one of my favorites. Ironically it wasn’t an Elvis song having been released in
1959 by ray Peterson. But it was Elvis who made it famous as one of his most
successful songs ever since he recorded it live in 1970.
Well, that brings me to the end of my list of beautiful memories. Hope
you to enjoyed musical Bandbox and lunch time variety as much as I did. It was
a time when music united families at Lunch time as no one wanted to miss out on
an hour of the best days of our lives. Signing of here with one of Europe’s and
the world’s most successful group of all time. ABBA and Thank
You For the Music.