अक्षय गाणें

गानकोकिळा, भारतरत्न लता मंगेशकर यांच्याबद्दल अनेक पुस्तकें लिहिली गेली आहेत. विशेषतः राजू भारतन आणि हरिष भिमाणी यांनी लता दिदींच्या सांगीतिक कारकिर्दीचा सखोल आढावा घेतला आहे. परंतु लताजींच्या व्यक्तिगत जीवनाबद्दल, त्यांच्या घरगुती वावराबद्दल फारसे ज्ञात नाही. त्यांची जिवलग मैत्रीण आणि साहित्य अकादमी पुरस्कार विजेत्या लेखिका पद्मा सचदेव यांचे पुस्तक ही उणीव भरून काढते. "ऐसा कहांसे लाऊं" या मूळ हिंदी चरित्राचा जयश्री देसाई यांनी "अक्षय गाणें" या नावाचा अतिशय सरस अनुवाद केला आहे. 

पुस्तक काहीसे डायरी पद्धतीने लिहिलेले आहे. त्यातुन केवळ लताजीच नव्हे तर संपुर्ण मंगेशकर कुटुंबातील व्यक्ती -- माई मंगेशकर ते आदिनाथ मंगेशकर -- आपल्या अनेक पैलूंनिशी सामोरे येतात. महत्त्वाचे म्हणजे यात जवळपास 50 दुर्मीळ फोटो आहेत, जे बहुतांश तरी मी यापूर्वी पाहिले नव्हते, उदाहरणार्थ, लताजींनी काढलेले फोटो आणि अप्रतिम पेंटिंग्ज.
हिंदी चित्रपट संगीताच्या सुवर्ण काळाबद्दल रुची असणाऱ्या आणि मंगेशकर कुटुंबातील अलौकिक गात्या गळ्यांवर प्रेम करणाऱ्या प्रत्येकाने आवर्जून वाचावे असेच हे पुस्तक आहे.

[Book] चार नगरांतील माझे विश्व : Dr Jayant Naralikar

It is rare to see an autobiography of an Indian scientist. It's even more rare to see an autobiography of Indian scientist in Marathi. So, coming across चार नगरांतील माझे विश्व by Dr Jayant Naralikar was something special.

Dr. Naralikar is well known for his Quasi-Steady State Theory, an alternative theory to Big Bang Model of the origin of the universe. 
In his autobiography, Dr. Naralikar narrates his life as a sequence of his living in four cities: His childhood and formative years in Benaras (Varanasi), doctoral and research years with Fred Hoyle at Cambridge, a professorship at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, and as Founder- Director of IUCAA, Pune. 
The narrative is extremely detailed, running about 600 pages, and has a good collection of photographs, and a superb index. In fact, I read the book primarily using the index rather than the traditional start-to-finish approach.
The book has received a Sahitya Academy award.

हाच माझा मार्ग (Haach Maajha Marg) - Sachin Pilgaonkar

हाच माझा मार्ग (Haach Maajha Marg), the autobiography of Sachin Pilgaonkar is perhaps one of the most detailed memoirs written by a contemporary Indian film star, and rightly so… His repertoire across Hindi and Marathi films spans a staggering 50+ years. 

The book measures about 320 pages and almost each page has a photo, many of them quite rare ones. Text is lucid and we get to read many behind-the-scenes, personal stories about movies and movie legends. The author shares his feelings, views and thoughts candidly and at times bluntly, which is great for a book about film industry notorious for its hypocrite ways.

The problem with this book is, after a while, it starts sounding a bit too much of "I, Me, Myself". At first glance, this may seem inevitable in an autobiography, but in the hands of a good editor, so many sentences could have been written in a much better way to make Mr. Pilgaonkar appear less of a narcissist. 

Secondly, and more importantly,  nowhere in the book does the author offer any deep, substantially meaningful insights into the soul of the industry he worked in for 50 years. The book reads more like a chronology of films and events than a retrospection of a thoughtful veteran.  

[Book] Faces - Gautam Rajadhyaksha

As a teenager, whenever I browsed through film magazines, there was a class of photos that stood out distinctively. The photos, mostly -- but not always -- in black & white, had their subject glowing in a soft focus, seemingly at peace with themselves and the world. They were shot at such a close range that threatened to expose every pimple and every mole, but instead made them look even more serene. And, no matter which magazine, one thing was common: The tagline that said "Photograph by: Gautam Rajadhyaksha"

Some of us friends had a rare chance to get a glimpse of the maestro himself during a photo exhibition titled "Faces" in Goa, the year was 2000. Fast forward a decade, and many of those photos had made it into a coffee table book with the same name. (Marathi edition is similarly titled "चेहरे"). For five years I tried to get the book but in vain. Apparently, only a limited copies were printed and most of them for private circulation only.

At last this year, I found it with a vendor at National Book Exhibition, but only after fighting tooth and nail with another customer. I felt sorry for him, but I deserved this one... After all, I have waited 15 years.

[Movie] कट्यार काळजात घुसली

कट्यार काळजात घुसली is a magnificent cinematic experience. The film boasts of very high production quality, an ensemble cast and course, one of the best music track of recent times. Kudos to Subodh Bhave and his team!

[Book] टाटायन - Girish Kuber

Finished reading Marathi book टाटायन, written by Girish Kuber, editor of Loksatta. 

The book chronicles family history and corporate profiles of Tata family, right from Nuserwanji Tata to Ratan Tata. 

Content is well-researched and presented in an engaging manner. Rare family photos from the Tata Archives are an added bonus!

[Book] गणिती by Achyut Godbole

Many of my favourite books have been read in the Nagpur-Goa-Nagpur journeys. Last weekend I added "गणिती" by Achyut Godbole to the list. The book made me think about beauty in mathematics. 

In the preface to this book, the author Achyut Godbole brings up an interesting idea: 

Is Mathematics a discovery, or an invention? Laws of physics and chemistry would exist even if there were no humans to measure them. But would algebraic equations and calculus exist without us?

Laws of physics seem to be the same across the universe. Would the mathematics of aliens be same like us?