On two old women from two countries ...

As I often note here, I feel incredibly lucky to have been born and raised in a wonderful country with lots of stories of its own, and to then to make myself at home in another wonderful country on the other side of the planet.

In the old country, a music legend died yesterday--she was 94.  In the country that I now call home, today would have been the 96th birthday of a music legend.

Shamshad Begum in India, and Ella Fitzgerald in America.

In all my growing up years in India, I never knew anything about Ella Fitzgerald.  Not a clue.  It seems very strange now, and the Indian past feels like a previous life sometimes for the stark contrast that is against my contemporary American life.

Google's doodle to commemorate her 96th birthday

It is not that I grew up without any music interests at all.  I did, with plenty of music that was almost all Indian, with very little from the West.  Thus, it wasn't until I was in graduate school at Los Angeles that I got to know about Ella Fitzgerald's magic.  Ironically, it was another Indian student, Praveen, who provided me with that taste when I heard the sheer wonder of Fascinating Rhythm pouring out of the speakers.  When I heard Fitzgerald team up with Louis Armstrong for Dream a little dream of me, I was way too ecstatic with that scat way of singing. I got hooked.  Much later, in a mixed-tape that he gifted, the first song on Side A was that Fascinating Rhythm.

A lucky guy I am to be able to relate to, and enjoy, the music of a culture that I never knew about.  And, at the same time, continue to enjoy the music of that old country. Old-time music at that.  One of those legends of that old music from India died yesterday.

Shamshad Begum, one of the earliest and most versatile playback singers from the golden age of Bollywood music, died at her residence here on Tuesday night after prolonged illness. She was 94.

A contemporary of Fitzgerald's halfway around the world.  I wonder if the two ever met; I suppose not.

Shamshad Begum's film songs were in a language, Hindi, in which I had no fluency even back in my India years.  But, they were always wonderful melodies and hers was an unmistakably distinct voice.  My all-time favorites of hers are these two duets: "Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar" with Mohammed Rafi, and this one which is like a duel, more than a duet, with Lata Mangeshkar.

Last December, when I spent a few days with my parents, father played his collection of old Hindi film songs.  He was pleasantly surprised that I was familiar with those songs, perhaps like how earlier this afternoon I was surprised with the musical taste of a student, "K," that was expressed on the t-shirt that was wearing.  Anyway, we talked about Shamshad Begum too.

All good things come to an end. Eventually.  That is life!