DEEPAVALI DEEPAVALI (MP3)
Balasaraswati
Old Telugu Songs
THE DIWALI SONG (MP3)
Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson
Nirali Magazine
Tonight begins the festival of Diwali (or Deepavali, or Tihar), the South Asian festival of lights. This seems like a perfectly good excuse for digging up a few Indian songs from various corners of the web. I don’t know much about any of these songs, but here goes.
“Diwali Di Rat Deevay,” by Bhai Kanwarpal Singh, is part of Gurmat Sangeet Project, “a grass-roots level effort dedicated to the preservation and propagation of the Gurmat Sangeet tradition, which can be traced all the way back to Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh religion.”
“Deepavali Nee” is on a website called TamilBeat.com and seems pretty contemporary, but I couldn’t find anything beyond that. Info is welcome.
“Deepavali Deepavali” is a mournful song, which seems odd for the holiday, but it’s part of a movie and presumably has something to do with the plot. Sung by Balasaraswati, a famous South Indian dancer (or at least I think it’s the same Balasaraswati; for all I know, finding Balasaraswatis in Hyderabad is like finding guys named Anthony in Brooklyn).
And finally, we come to The Office and its loopy celebration of Diwali. Have a happy, happy, happy, happy Diwali!
I just wanted to tell you that I love your blog concept. 🙂 I’ll definitely keep my eye on your selections; it’s always been a goal of mine to “claim” a favorite band from every corner of the globe.
(The funky TamilBeat Deepavali Nee song makes me wanna shake, shake, shake.)
Might I suggest that, if possible, you link to translations of lyrics for the songs you post? For some places, that may be impossible. But for, say, Japan or Germany or the like, it would be a wonderful touch for the English-speakers visiting your blog. 😉
Also, here are a couple of recommended bands for later:
*Wir sind Helden (Germany)
*Cafe Tacuba (Mexico)
*Super Furry Animals (Wales)
*Pizzicato Five (Japan)
*Paris Combo (France)
Woo! World music! 🙂