EVERGREEN HINDI SONGS

I am very fond of film songs and during my childhood days I have heard a number of Hindi Songs. For a long time I was listening to these Hindi Songs without understanding the meaning (which still continues to some extent). My father, sister, brothers are all great fans of hindi music. My father likes all the music directors and he has a particular fascination for O.P.Nayyar songs.

There are quite a few songs which are very soothing to the mind and these songs will remain to be fresh even after another century. I have listed my top 100 hindi songs. The following is the list of Evergreen Hindi Songs which have been smashing hits and have remained as Top Class Songs for several decades:

1. Lakhon hai yehan dil wale aur pyaar nahi miltha (by Mahendra Kapoor)
2. Bade Sooni Sooni hai Zindagi ye zindagi
3. Pyaar chahiye muje jeene ke liye
4. Roopse niklaana karo roopki raani
5. Esu modupe jaathe hai
6. Kullam kulla pyar karenge hum dono
7. Mene thaere liye hi saat rangke sapne suni
8. woh shyaam kuch ajeeb thee
9. Mera jootha hai japani ye badloom englishtani sarpe laal topi russi phir bhi dhil hai hindustaani
10. Hai Chandka roshan chehra zulfonka rang chunehara
11. Dafli wale dafli baja
12. Mere angneme thumaara kya kaam hai
13. Chahoonga mein tujhe chand savere (Dosti 1964)

14. Acha to hum chaltein hai phir kab miloge
15. kya khoob lagthi ho badi sundar dikthi ho (Feroz Khan & Hemamalini)
16. Hum tum ek kamre mein bandh ho aur chabi kho jaye
17. Mujhe kuch kehna hai mujebi kuch kehna hai pehle thum pehle thum
18. Na maangun sona chandi
19. Likhe jo khat tujhe wo theri yaad mein
20. Ekhu ghar banavoonga there ghar ke samne
21. Dhil ke jharonke mein thujko bitakhar
22. choudvin ka chand ho
23. Teri pyari pyari soorath ko kisiki nazar na lage chashme baddoor
24. abhi na javo chodhkar ye din abhi baraa nahin
25. Ehesaan thera hoga muj par
26. yeh mera prem patru padukhar ke thum naaraazna hona

27. akele akele kahaan jha rahe ho
28. bahut shukriya badi mehrubaani
29. madhuban mein radhika naachere
30. aankhon hi aankhon mein ishaara hogaya
31. Dheeruse jaana katiyan me ho katumal
32. wada karle saajna therebina mena rahu
33. jo wada kiya woh nibhaana padega
34. chalte chalte mere yeh geeth yaadrakhuna
35. yeh dosti hum nahin chodenge (sholay)
36. Jaaneja doondhutha phir yehan
37. Piyathoo abtho aajah (Caravan)

38. Yeh jawaani hai diwani hut mere raani rukh javo raani
39. pal pal dhil ke paas thum rehathi ho
40. Pyaar manga hai thumise naa inkaar karo
41. Rukh Jaana nahin
42. Raahi manva dhuk ki chinta kyoon (Dosti 1964)
43. Dheko meina dheka hai ek sapna (Love Story)
44. Jhil mil sitaaronka aangan hoga rim jim tharastha saavan hoga
45. Dekhaana hai re sochaana (Bombay to Goa)
46. Zindagi ka safar hai ye kaisa safar
47. Thaere ghar ke saamne ek ghar banavoonga
48. chal mere bhai thera haath jhodthaahun
49. Thoo chupi hai kahaan mein thadapthaa yehaan
50. aajare aajare oh mere dhilbur aaja
51. khabi khabi mere dhil mein kayal aatha hai
52. sau saal pehle mujhe thumse pyaar thaa
53. wada karlo saajna there bina mena rahun mere bina thoona rahe
54. saagar kinare dil ye pukaare thoojho nahi tho meraa koyi nahi hai
55. yeh kya huwa kaise huwa kab huwa kyoon huwa
56. Baharon phoor barasao mera mehboob ayaa hai

57. meri mehboob thuje meri mohaabat ki kasam
58. bindiya chamke gi choodi khankegi
59. jai jai shiv shankar (aap ki kasam 1974)
60. zindagi ek safar hai suhaana yehaan kal kya ho kisne jaana
61. teri galiyon mein hum aaye
62. mere desh ki dharti
63. deewanose yeh math poocho
64. kya dekti ho soorat thumhari
65. chadti jawani mere chal mastaani
66. kitna pyara wada hein himmatwali aankon ka
67. abki sajan saawan mein
68. jaane kahan gaye woh din
69. Ye bhai zara dhekke chalo
70. aap ki kare mein koyi rehtha hai

71. Oh meri soni
72. chura liya hai thumne jo dilko
73. wahan koun he thera musaafir jaayega kahaan
74. hum bane tum bane ek dujhe ke liye
75. papa kehte hain badaa naam karega
76. aaj mousam bada beimaan hai
77. aawaz mein na doonga
78. mei naa bhooloonga
79. kya huwa tera wada
80. akiyonki jaronkonse
81. rang barse bheege chunaruvaali (evergreen holi song)
82. yeh raath bheegi bheegi yeh mast
83. chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe
84. ramaiya vastavaiya
85. pyar huwa ekraar huwa hai

86. gaatha rahe mera dhil thoo hi meri manzil
87. tere mere sapne abh ek rang hai
88. mere sapnoki raani khab aayegi thu
89. khora khaagaztha yeh man mera
90. baaghon mein bahaar ayi hotonpe pukaar ayi
91. ek dho theen char panch che saath aat nou das gyaara bhaara thera (Madhuri Magic)
92. dost dost naa raha
93. Mehbooba mehbooba (sholay hit by R.D.Burman)
94. main pal do pal ka shayar hoon
95. hawa mein udtha jaye mera laal dupatta
96. kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisar
97. yaad aarahi hai
98. chal chal chal mere haati oh mere saati
99. khaike paan banaraswala
100. teri tasveeruko seene se laga rakha hai

SOWSEELYAM

"Sowseelyam" is a word i got to know on Friday, 29th April 2011 when i attended the Upanyasam on Ramayanam by Sri.U.Ve.Velukkudi Krishnan in Dubai. It was a an excellent upanyasam for 2 hours on Bala Gaandam and Ayodya Gaandam. While describing the character of Rama, Shri.Velukkudi Krishnan said one of the qualities of Rama is "Sowseelyam" which means ability, tact and humility that a person in high position possesses to deal with people at lower levels. Rama has demostrated this quality through his association and affection shown towards Guhan (who is an ordinary boatman).

Sowseelyam - ability to mix freely with those much below one's status and level is an important quality that needs to be imbibed by all of us. In our day to day life we come accross so many people who are below our status or level and it is extremely important for us to deal with such people with affection.

We have to be courteous, helpful and respectful when dealing with people who are below our status or level. Whether one is dealing with such poeple at work or at home or on the street it is very important and essential to treat such people with dignity, respect and love. It would help such people to grow in status as it would boost their self confidence and self esteem.

I always try my best to be friendly with people who are below my status and level. I make them feel at ease in my presence and try to help them as much as I can. I treat them with lot of respect and make them feel comfortable so that they can freely communicate their views and ideas.

Who’s problem is it anyway?

Life is full of problems and we are constantly in search for solving these problems. Each problem that we encounter seems bigger than the other and it really puts us under enormous pressure and stress.

Of late I have started telling people in my conversations “it is not your problem but actually it is my problem”. Even yesterday during a google chat my close friend Sam said something and I immediately replied “adigaprasangithanam”. He did not like that and immediately said “what is the bloody adigaprasangithanam in this”. I could see his anger and frustration. I immediately ended the chat conversation by saying “I apologise, I am sorry”. When I sat back and thought about the chat conversation I realized that what he did was right in his own way and opinion. It was not his problem but it was my problem because I felt he has over-stepped and also commented on it. Even if I had felt that he has over-stepped I could have kept quite.

I remember almost 20 years ago we were all sitting in Mylapore Club and Sam told my then “Godfather” “Sir, Anand is really good in problem solving and I think he should write a book on “How to solve problems”. My Ex-Godfather immediately said “You are very correct Murthy, but I feel most of the problems that Anand is facing are created by him and may be he should firstwrite a book “How to create problems” and then write “How to solve problems”. Everybody had a good laugh except me. These comments really got etched in my brain.

While I was excited with the idea of writing two different books I thought I had a long way to go before I could even try and attempt a small article on the subject.

Last 20 years I have been facing problems – at work, at home, with friends, in traffic, etc., and on many occasions I have been successful in finding the right solution because I ask the question to myself “is this my problem and am I responsible for creating the problem”.

I have still not learned enough in life to be in a position to write those two books. I thought I should atleast attempt at an article covering – What is a Problem? Whose problem is it? Why are we trying to solve it? How to solve it? How to ensure that it does not recur again?

What is a Problem? It refers to a situation, condition, or issue that is yet unresolved. In a broad sense, a problem exists when an individual becomes aware of a significant difference between what actually is and what is desired. In other words, problem is a gap between an actual and desired situation. If the desire or expectation is set by us then it is squarely our problem and not that ofthe other person(s).

Whose problem is it? I sent an SMS and expected a reply for the same. I did not get any reply and later in the day when I spoke to that person I asked “did you see my SMS this morning”. The answer was “Yes but sorry I could not reply as I was busy with so many other issues”. I quickly said “don’t feel sorry. It is not your problem. It is my problem because I expected a reply and did not inform you that I will be waiting for a reply”.

On many occasions we would find that the Problem is ours and not that of the other person with whom we are dealing. If the problem is ours then we should only solve it. The easiest way to solve problems is to analyse and see what is the desire or expectation. In my experience I have found that on most issues if we lower our expectation then we will have a good problem to deal with. If our desire or expectation is higher we have a difficult problem to deal with.

Why are we trying to solve it? There is a burning desire in every one of us to achieve what we have aspired for. There is a constant quest for something new or something better or something more. This leads to the desire and the expectation. An ant has been living the same way for the last 2000 years but an aunt or any human being for that matter has not been living the same way for even 20 years. As human beings we keep growing desires and expectations. The growing desire will always leave us with a gap in the actual situation as against what we desire or expect. This brings us to the need for finding a solution to the problem.

How to solve a problem? The easiest way to solve a problem is to understand the gap between the actual situation and the desired situation. Analyse how this gap can be addressed and whether there is an immediate fix or not. We could also look at a correction on the desired situation so that the gap is reduced significantly. In my experience I have found that if we put ourselves “in the shoes of the other person” half the battle is won. There are several ways of solving a problem and given the situation we should try and find the best possible solution which is a “Win Win” for both the parties.

Last year I had an urgent need for money and I decided to close my Recurring Deposit Account with the Bank. I walked up to the Officer concerned in Indian Overseas Bank and said “I want to close my R.D. Account”. He asked me “Sir how much money you need”. I got terribly irritated at this question (though I did not show my irritation). He continued “You have R.D. for 18 months and you have already paid monthly instalments for 12 months. If you need some money for urgent needs why don’t you take a loan against the R.D.” I kicked myself and said why did I not think about it this way.

Sometimes it makes sense to look at the problem as our own and then try to find a solution.

How to ensure that it does not recur again? I have heard people say “human memory is very short lived”. I do not agree with this as I feel Human Memory is phenomenal and on many occasions the memory fails due to our own “selective amnesia”. Whenever we find a solution to a problem it is better to review the situation and register the same in our mind. This will help us to avoid such problems in future and thus prevent it from recurring. Having said that I have faced problems which have repeated and on analysis found that it was my own carelessness or forgetfulness which has led to the problem recurring for the second time.

Life is a long journey and with the present technology it is not very difficult to keep track of the problems and the solutions. I am thinking of recording the various problems that I have faced and the solutions that I have found. It will be interesting to also review those solutions now to see if there could be any improvement or improvisation.

Hindsight is always 20:20

T.P.Anand, Dubai, U.A.E

11th February 2010

Building a Home

Building a Home is a dream for every one of us. It is not easy to build or buy your own home. It calls for a lot of planning and effort. The financial outlay, future commitment for the housing loan, location of the home, layout, interiors and many more things have to be carefully planned and executed.

In tamil there is a saying "Kalyanam panni paar, Veettai katti paar". Perform a Marriage and build a house. Both these are very tough jobs and requires a lot of money, lot of planning, lot of effort and lot of support from the near and dear. I have gone through the experience of both - performing marriage and also building a house and hence I know how difficult it is.

Home is built for us to live for the rest of our life and there are homes where several generations have lived. The Home is built over a period of 2 years and the financial commitment keeps us busy for 15 to 20 years. Finally the Home is there for more than 100 years for us to live.

Today, 24th April 2011 is a very important day for N.S.Raghavan and Sarasija Raghavan as they perform the Grahapravesam of their new home in the City of Chandler, Arizona State in the USA.

I congratulate this young couple on buying their own home and wish them all the very best. Let the new home bring you both lots and lots of happiness and prosperity.

Dear Raghavan & Sarasija "Today you have achieved something in life and can feel proud of it. We wish you all the very best" - T.P.Anand & Family

My Little Hut

A Hut is a thatched roof built with casurina poles and branches of coconut tree. This is a typical poor peoples home that can be seen everywhere in India.

When I was a student, pursuing Chartered Accountancy (CA) I requested my father to build a Hut for myself on the terrace of our house in Triplicane (No.13 Thandavarayan Street). My father obliged immediately and a beautiful hut was built the same week at a cost of Rs.2,400/- in 1985.

For nearly five years I used to spend my time in the Hut whenever I am at home. I used to go to the ground floor only for taking bath in the morning. My mother used to bring my breakfast, lunch and dinner to the hut. She will mix the Sambar Rice, Rasam Rice and Curd Rice and bring them to the hut.

My friends started visiting the Hut and started liking the cool ambiance in the Hut. The thatched roof with coconut tree leaves will make the room cool even during summer.

I had a big cupboard full of books for C.A. My friends started coming everyday for group study. We also had open space outside the hut in the terrace and the entire terrace space of 980 square feet was used by me and my friends for group study for CA. The daily visitors were Sathyamurthy, Sriram, Arvind, Ranganathan and there were occasional visitors like Sridhar, Margabandhu (I hope I have not missed out any names here). We also had some sudden visitors who used to come to check what we were all doing.

On seeing the regular crowd of students studying day and night, my mother started making murukku, thattai, seedai, etc. We used to get regular supply of these eatables in large stainless steel canisters.

My second brother T.P.Ashok also joined the group as he was preparing for CAIIB Exams. My first brother T.P.Ravikumar's friend Venkatraman started coming to prepare for CAIIB and soon there was a group of CAIIB students in my hut (Venkatraman, Parameswaran, Ashok).

My hut was occupied all the 24 hours by students preparing either for CA or CAIIB and it was bustling with activity for nearly two years.

We used to stay awake in the night and prepare for the Exams. We used to go for a short walk and Tea in the night. The Tea break was usually around 1 a.m. and it was a wonderful experience. Triplicane being Bachelor's Paradise the tea shops and potti kadai used to be open till 3 a.m. and they will again resume business by 5 a.m. There was a grill gate and on entering the grill gate access to the first floor

I had two folding cot, extra beds, lot of pillows and mats in my Hut.

I had lot of books - for each subject I had atleast two or three different author books. I had all the publications released by the CA Institute.

We all used to study the subjects and have frequent discussions. There were individual study sessions as well as group study sessions. It was a very healthy atmosphere.

In addition to the eatables made at home by my mother we also used to frequently prepare our own recipe. We used to buy arisi pori and mix avakkai pickle in it. We used to buy Watermelon and make fresh juice.

My father built a proper room (with cement sheet roof) at the rear end of the terrace with a small kitchen and Arvind used to stay in this portion. Whenever we needed money to buy Watermelon or Arisi Pori or other needs of the group we used to take the money from Arvind's purse. He used to get money from his father every month and we had regular supply of funds for all petty expenses from Arvind. We used to call him "Periappa".

It was close to two years that we all spent our lives in that little Hut to qualify as Chartered Accountants and my brother and his group qualified as Professional Bankers. A large group has benefited by studying in that little hut (poor man's dwelling). Thanks to the support of my family.

We have had several meetings and discussions in the Hut for social activities as most of us were also part of the Rotaract Movement at that time.

I continued to use the Hut after I qualified as a Chartered Accountant. I had my office in that Hut. My clients used to appreciate the place as it was a cool office with a nice natural ambiance.

Till I left for employment in Singapore in October 1990 I have used the Hut as my full time abode. Those five years that I spent in the Hut are truly amazing, fulfilling years which I will cherish for ever during this lifetime.

The years that I spent in my Little Hut were really memorable years. It was full of activity, fun, learning. Very Interesting, educative and truly enjoyable period of my life.

My little Hut existed till 1991 almost six years. It was dismantled after I migrated to Singapore.

I would appreciate if my friends can add their experiences in this blog.

T.P.Anand, Dubai, 21st April 2011

Typewriting

Typewriting is a skill that was very useful to get Government Jobs about 30 years back. In Chennai there were so many typewriting institutes particularly in places like Triplicane, Mylapore and Mambalam.

As soon as the SSLC exams are over the boys and girls used to join for Typewriting classes. There used to be very good crowd in some of the Typewriting Institutes and there used to be some batches for which they would have a waitlist. Lot of young boys and girls used to find their first “affair” in these typewriting institutes.

Srinivas Typewriting Institute was very famous in Triplicane those days. Lot of good looking girls learnt typewriting in that Institute and hence there were lot of boys who went and joined there. They used to have exclusive girls batch so that the girls from conservative families can join.

I learnt typewriting in “Ceevees Institute” in Triplicane High Road. It was far away from my house but I still joined there because few of my friends joined in that Institute.

As a skill “Typewriting” was useful those days as it would get the person an entry level job in the Government Sector “Clerk cum Typist”. I do not know if the position of a “Typist” exists in any organization as every one needs to do their own typing – whether it is in the form of an email or a letter.

It was difficult to do the typewriting in those machines as one had to press the key very hard to get the impression on the paper. Sometimes several keys will go and get stuck at the centre. The machine will not be serviced properly and it used to be a struggle to get a change of seat. Godrej, Remington and Halda were the most popular brand typewriting machines.

I joined for typewriting classes immediately after my X Standard Exams in 1978. I quite liked the experience of learning typewriting as my father and brothers also had acquired that skill. I passed “Lower” grade and “Higher” grade. I was ready to go for “High Speed” but due to my other commitments I did not appear for the exams. After my XII standard exams when I thought of doing CA to become a Chartered Accountant I was wondering if the typewriting was a waste of an effort. Little did I realise at that time that I will be using the typewriting skills on a daily basis.

With the advent of the computers the typewriting skill has become very useful in the day to day life. Those who do not have the typewriting skills struggle to compose their own emails and letters. The younger generation today has developed the skill of using two or three fingers and still manage a decent speed. Nothing to beat the speed which a person gets with the typewriting skill on the keyboard. The advantage of using the keyboard of a computer is that it is very smooth and no need to depress the keys like we used to do on a normal typewriting machine.

I am very grateful to my parents for having sent me for the typewriting classes in those days. It has proved to be immensely useful and helpful over the years as I am using a computer at work all the time from morning to evening. I was a “Job Typist” for a while and made a decent living out of that using my old “Underwood” Typewriter. After becoming a Chartered Accountant I have always been using a Computer or a Laptop and the typewriting skills have certainly helped all through the life so far.

When we learn certain skills, we tend to feel bad that those skills are not useful anymore due to the technological changes. For instance many of my friends who learnt “short hand” in those days are no longer using the short hand. There is self correspondence and even in case of dictation needs today there are Dictaphones and even voice recognition systems on computers which takes care of the work.

The change in technology and developments over the years however, has been such that the “typewriting” skills are still very useful. Cycling, Car Driving, Swimming, Cooking are some such skills which will always come in handy even with the technological advancements and changes.

There are some websites which teach the typewriting skills and it is indeed very useful as the normal key board is not only seen in Computers, Laptops but they are also now entering the Mobile Phones space.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
5th August 2010

Bed time stories

I do not recall any of the bed time stories told to me when I was a kid. Till my sister’s daughter was born I did not even think that there could be story books for the kids. In 1982 when I joined for CA Articleship I went to a book publishing house for audit and that was the first time I saw so many story books meant for children. I used to buy those story books for my niece Kavita. She used to enjoy looking at the pictures in the story books and my sister used to read the stories for her.

In 1990 when my twin sons were born I again started buying the story books. As small little boys they used to enjoy the stories and the way I read the stories from the book. I used to add my own masala at times. I still remember some of the stories like Pinnochio; Little Red Riding hood; Jack and the Beanstalk; Chip and Dale; Cindrella; Snow White and 7 Dwarfs; Dark Wing Duck And Clean Money; etc. I used to read the stories with a little music added to it. Even the title of the story will be told by me in a musical tone. I used to read “Dark wing Duck and CleanMoney” and follow it up with “Ting Tung Ting Tung Ting ting Ting”.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story books for my little kids and I was myself reading them for the first time in my life. I used to also tell my own stories of animals, aliens, cartoon characters like Micky, Donald, Goofy etc. One day my elder son prompted me to tell a new story and he also put a condition saying it should not have any animals or cartoon characters. I immediately started the story of “Three Friends” and my kids were immediately asking me what their names. As I am faced with a tough choice of not using
animals and cartoon character I thought for a second and said “Chocolate, Biscuit and Ice Cream”. They were both excited and started clapping their hands.

I narrated the story:
========================================

Chocolate, Biscuit and Ice Cream are very good friends and they always enjoyed playing games and used to spend their time always together. One day it was raining heavily and Biscuit wanted to go and play in the rain. His mother told him it is risky to play in the rain and he might get fully drenched in rain water and loose his identity. Biscuit did not listen to hismother and still went ahead to play in the rain. Very soon Biscuit got drenched in the rain and started to loose his identity. Chocolate and Ice Cream quickly gathered Biscuit and put him in a Microwave Oven. Biscuit regained his original shape and identity. The three friends stayed indoors and enjoyed their day.

Another day it was very sunny and hot and Ice Cream wanted to go and play in the Sun. His mother told him that if he goes out and plays in the sun he will melt. Ice Cream did not listen to his mother and went ahead to play in the hot sun. When he was about to melt his friends Chocolate and Biscuit quickly brought him back to the house and kept him in the Freezer section of the Fridge. Ice Cream regained his original shape and
identity.

Chocolate told his friends that they both have faced problems only because they did not listen to the advice of the elders. The “Three Friends” decided that they will always listen to their elders.

Moral of the Story: You must listen to what you parents tell you.
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My kids enjoyed this story so much that they used to ask me tell this story every night. I thoroughly enjoyed telling Bed Time Stories to my children until they were able to start reading on their own. I still fondly remember the nights when I used to read the story from the books and also tell my own story. I had a tough time making them to sleep as they used to keep asking for more stories from me. Every kid will enjoy Bed Time
Stories and every parent would be thrilled to tell the Bed Time Stores to their child.

At the end of every story I used to tell them “Moral of the Story”. When I repeat the story the next time I used to ask them what is the “Moral of the Story”. I always used to ask them “did you like the story” and they will say in chorus “yes”. The next day or within few days if they ask me to repeat a story then I know they like it very much.

Some stories when I try to repeat on my own they would say no and then I used to get the message that they don’t like that story. My objective was to instill good moral values in them and hence I always used to tell them stories which had a good moral value. I never used to tell any scary stories or horror stories as I was myself scared of such things.

Bed Time Stories are relished and enjoyed by the kids but the moral value that goes with it should get deeply etched in their minds. When that happens then the kids will grow up with such good moral values. I feel “Bed Time Stories” are of “Life Time Value”.

T.P.Anand, Dubai, U.A.E.
24th June 2010