Talk of the town

In a multilingual country like India where Hindi has literally failed to acquire the status of a national language, working in the Hindi heartland can be quite difficult for a person who faces the language barrier every now and then.

This became clear this past week-end when Mr. E. Sreedharan of the Konkan Railway fame who heads the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation these days, had to turn to his subordinates during a press conference whenever those representing Hindi newspapers flooded him with questions in the language which the DMRC Managing Director was not comfortable with.

One such question was regarding ``muaavja'' (compensation) to the family of a labourer who had died in a ``durghatna'' (accident) when the work for the first phase of the Metro was on near Tis Hazari.

As Mr. Sreedharan was not familiar with these words, his subordinates had to intervene to translate those tongue-twisters. And when it came to replying, the DMRC chief preferred English with few insertions of the national language here and then.

However, things went on smoothly with Mr. Sreedharan's colleagues assisting him ably. But he did not fail to impress the gathering, making an effort to speak in Hindi wherever possible.

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A successful album is always the result of good teamwork. When the singer, music director and lyricist strike a chord, what results is mellifluous music that directly touches the heart. This is what Talat Aziz aspires to do with his new album ``Khoobsurat''.

Delving into the history of love with the modulated and mature voice of Talat and supported by the soft music of debutant Sameer Phaterpekar, lyricist Anand Bakshi in this album breaks free from the parameters imposed on him by filmi situations. ``Jaane sabse pehle/Yeh kaha kisne.... Kaha kisse'' (No one knows who said it for the first time, to whom was it said first).

``My new album is a blend of western instrumentation and Indian tunes, a fusion of emphatic lyrical content and contemporary rhythm,'' asserts Talat. ``In this you will find the poet in Bakshi saab coming out.''

Sameer, who has worked with all music directors of the film industry, has given music befitting the lyrical genius of Anand Bakshi and the unmatched voice of Talat. ``He has introduced new- age music into my persona as a singer,'' says the ghazal singer, who does not like to be typified so. ``I would like to do world music and this album is a small step in that direction.''

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WHAT do you do when your dream project turns into a nightmare? Sit and moan? Or take to the heels, far from the madding crowd and even more maddening cameramen? Well, if you are Muzaffar Ali, who once gave us beautiful "Umrao Jaan" and then promised that his rendezvous with the silver screen shall last, then you do neither. You just wait for things to change, an opportunity to turn the corner

Ali, who had announced "Zooni", a film based on a Sufi poetess from Kashmir with Dimple Kapadia -- then quite a rage with arty film-makers -- nearly a decade back, has not given up on his dream project yet. In New Delhi the other day -- he has come up with soulful composition for Abida Parveen's audio album Ismil -- Ali disclosed that his heart still beats for "Zooni". Dimple may have aged but the passage of years have failed to leave their imprint on Ali's heart who hopes for "the right political climate" in Kashmir before his shelved project sees the light of the day.

He, however, is in no mood to shoot the film elsewhere, insisting that if "Zooni" has to be shot, it has to be in Kashmir.

(Contributions by Sandeep Joshi, K. Kannan and Ziya Us Salam).

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