#deepavalli

Song of the Day - Saturday 2nd November Chalte Chalte - Lata Mangeshkar Happy Deepavalli (that's how we Tamils spell it down south) and a prosperous New Year. This song immediately transports me back to the late 80s, watching videos of Movie Mahal taped off Channel 4 with my mum, sitting on the floor in a pavada (aka little girls' training sari) preparing the sweets for Deepavalli, desperate for it to be time for the lighting of the lamps, and finally, prawn curry, coconut rice and Ambala by the bucket load. Tamil music was played constantly throughout my childhood, on the stereo as much as Fleetwood Mac and The Carpenters - and then once my sister and I staged a revolution and took charge of the playlist - still chosen as often as The Clash or Kylie Minogue. This particular song comes from the Tamil equivalent of Madame Butterfly, Pakeezah, a desperately sad, beautiful story about a young orphan girl, Nargis, who is raised by a brothel madame to become a celebrated dancing girl. However, in spite of her fame and talent which are so great as to attract the attentions of a prince, Nargis cannot bring herself to accept a happily ever after. The film's shocking ending traumatised me as a child, and to anyone who thinks Indian cinema is all Bollywood glitter and choreographed dance routines, I ask that you set the TV to record Pakeezah (which will be on during the darkest hours of Monday night) for a piece of classic 70s Indian cinema. The legendary Lata Mangeshkar provides the vocals to this iconic track.