Lalit Nigam
Anatomy of an Era
Singers arrived, and they departed. Some succeeded; others flopped. Over their lifetime, some became legends, and others fared reasonably...
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Golden Voices
Biographies by Lalit Nigam
Introduction
The Golden Era voices from 1950-1980, ignitable by their excellence, found shelf space in the repository of Bombay Cinema’s musical archives Voices from a Golden Era captures this exciting period, from infancy to maturation, during which this industry was a Petri Dish incubating tuneful music. Not a single artist from this era was willing to accept mediocrity. The result was a roster of highly
competent crooners.
Love classical singers? Look no further. Lataji’s meteoric rise began with her coaching in Indian classical music by renowned teachers. Due to this exemplary training, despite early trials and tribulations, this daughter of Maharashtra concocted such a rich brew during her career that it left listeners thunderstruck. The book lists all her great significant melodies.
Why should a singer whose dexterity rivaled Lataji be left behind? Equally trained by masters, Rafi Saheb executed a diamond’s brilliance in rendering songs of any genera, happy, sad, patriotic, religious, and classical. It’s not to say that there weren’t other great singers during this period. But the list is concise, a mere handful, starting with Kishore Kumar, Mukesh Mathur, Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar, and Manna Dey, and in the female lineage Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt.
This book is a trip down memory lane, capturing a wealth of emotions from touching sorrow to joyous scenes penned by lyricists who wrote songs as poems and composers with finesse.
Introduction
About Voices from a Golden Era
Voices from a Golden Era is a biography like none other. Traditional approaches emphasize life stories.
In this biography, besides emulating a conventional pattern, it also introduces data in tabular form, which can become a Reference Manual.
Vibrant photos of singers abound, which gladden your heart. Incisive analyses exist in Author’s Critique. Augmenting this treatment is trivia and the singer’s views on various topics related to the movie industry. What more can one ask? Experience this landscape by tumbling through the pages of Voices from a Golden Era.
The Golden Era Voices attained unprecedented heights due to consummate artists striving for perfection, nothing less. Stalwarts KL Saigal, Rafi Saheb, Mukesh, and Kishore led the male charge, and evergreen Lataji cordoned the rear with Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt. Their efforts captured in revealing photos and prose suffused with extensive data and authentic narration all merge to deliver a segment in the book. Voices from a Golden Era’s. easy-to-read life histories have charm, and penetrating critiques by the author add glamor. Read these rekindled glimpses of this glorious past in this book.
About the Book
Key Selling Points
Key Selling Points
What is the hallmark of successful writing? When the author breaks a high barrier to reach his reader imprisoned in a content desert, the author has arrived. He comes to the rescue by offering them a unique slant, a new way of looking at things. Such is the case in Voices from a Golden Era. The author delivers; he opens a gala world of life histories of singers from the Bombay Music scene from 1950 to 1980.
Their pursuit of Filmfare, National, and other film-related Awards become one of the drivers of their work. Getting "Padma" Awards from the Government of India is also relevant. The author is aware; these issues are well documented. In the book, he uses an exclusive format in which he lays bare life stories and simultaneously emphasizes the stark realities of their lives.
A listing of their songs, sung under which Music Directors, Filmography, and Discography are all accurate. He maintains the integrity of a biography as he narrates singers' highs and lows in their fullness; rich, lavish, and accurate. The author presents the reader with this data in tabular form in the book. Therein lies the fragrance of this biography-anthology. When my reader needs help, they will find accurate, expansive truths about the singer's life in this book. They can be sure of the authenticity of the information provided. If these aren't reasons enough to own this book, then what is?
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Testimonial
Phyliss Shanken
Psychologist, Author, Playwright, and Consultant
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“Lalit Nigam conducts a thorough investigation of his subjects as he combines the singer’s own words, and supplemental stories found from outside sources. He intertwines his knowledge within a comprehensive account through clear writing, which is presented in a reader-friendly manner, making his narrative feel as if Lalit is sitting across from you in your living room. He includes photos that he personally selected. He corroborates well-organized data tables, that shed light on individual “Padma Awards,” “Filmfare Awards,” “National Awards” and several more. He goes further by offering an Authors Critique page, which emphasizes each singer’s abilities. As further summary, he includes The Artists Page as a living history, along with Trivia and the singer’s own viewpoint. By the end of his historical account, Lalit leaves the reader educated and satisfied. You place the book on the shelf, confident that you will be picking up the book again and again. A fulfilling experience for historians and music lovers. Well-worth the read.”
Tesimonial
About the Author, in his own words...
I have had the art of writing in me since my school years. It began during Middle and High School when I had essays and poems published in Hindi and English in my School Magazine, The Franciscan, for successive years.
Then came the period when one prepares for a profession. My next adventure took me to IIT Banaras, where I studied Mechanical Engineering, and then to Columbia University, NYC, for my MBA. These efforts shelved my abilities as an author. Lying dormant, they resurfaced when I retired. During these years, I was married to Mamta, with whom I had two wonderful sons, a doctor and a Senior VP at Wyndham Hotels. Her passing away robbed me of an angel.
Two experiences have molded me. Mamta's love and demise left a pulsating sweet memory; her mellow disposition affected my writing. As a result, Biographies/Short Story Anthologies had emotional depth. In writing a singer's biography, only the very best of the artist surfaces; in my love stories, the female protagonist is beautiful, brave, conscientious, empathetic, loving, and giving. Voices from a Golden Era is my first biography. Following this are three more, one biography and two anthologies of love stories. Already completed, they await publication.
The second experience relates to my days at the High School, Engineering, and Business Schools. Though these efforts pulled me away from a possible writing career early on in my life, they provided me with rich backgrounds and grainy textures in locales and heroes with unique quirky slants that became the protagonists in my stories. I could draw from this embellished tapestry to write my books. A favorite pastime of mine and many other students was to bike to the movie halls of Varanasi. From these movies, I developed a love for the songs in them, which, when I retired, became the impetus to write Voices from a Golden Era.
Bio
Holding a Mechanical Engineering Degree from IIT Banaras and an MBA from Columbia University, NYC., Lalit has worked with Xerox and various consulting engineers. He also attended three writing workshops led by Phyliss Shanken, Peter Murphy, and Judith Lindbergh, all published authors.
Beginning in Grade and High School, he had poems and essays published in his School Magazine, The Franciscan, in successive years.
Two published stories from Turbulent Waters, his short story collection, are:
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A Nameless Relationship
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A Canary’s Song
Several other stories have received favorable critiques from The Missouri Review, The New Yorker, and The Paris Review, and several more.
Lalit Nigam,
Author - Voices from a Golden Era
Bio
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