Listen with Irfan

Deepti Naval (born 3 February 1952) is an Indian actress, director, and writer, predominantly active in Hindi cinema . Her major contribution has been in the area of art cinema, winning critical acclaim for her sensitive and 'close to life' characters that emphasized the changing roles of women in India.

1983 में कवि, सम्पादक और संस्कृतिकर्मी महेश्वर का गाया एक दुर्लभ गीत। शहीदों के लिए / शशिप्रकाश ज़ि‍न्‍दगी लड़ती रहेगी, गाती रहेगी नदियाँ बहती रहेंगी कारवाँ चलता रहेगा, चलता रहेगा, बढ़ता रहेगा मुक्ति की राह पर छोड़कर साथियो, तुमको धरती की गोद में । खो गए तुम हवा बनकर वतन की हर साँस में बिक चुकी इन वादियों में गन्‍ध बनकर घुल गए भूख से लड़ते हुए बच्‍चों की घायल आस में कर्ज़ में डूबी हुई फसलों की रंग...

12 July 2014 recording, Mumbai. Starts with a Sarod piece by Zarin Daruwala Sharma followed by casual gupshup at home. Zarin starts with Kersi (Lord) ka kaisa raha? How was the experience of recording last evening with Kersi Lord? This is an audio recording at Zarin Daruwala Sharma's residence in Mumbai where I am talking to Zarin Daruwala Sharma. She played few pieces of her Sarod and her husband...

A 2014 recording. Zareen Daruwala  was born on 9 October 1946. She was a child prodigy and a celebrated sarod player of India. Zarin had been known for her on-stage performances besides her trysts with the film studios in the tinsel city. She had been a pioneering female hand to play the sarod, a stringed instrument believed to have been an Indian adaptation of central Asia’s rabab. If i...

This short story Boo by Manto was produced in 2007 and first published on artofreading.com Recited by : Munish Sharma Produced by : Irfan Image courtesy: Francis Newton Souza

20 March 2016. Behind the Nautanki stage in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Master Munna Lal, 76 speaks of her half century life in Nautanki, a traditional art form of northern India. At around 19th Min of this podcast joins Master Munna Lal, another veteran Nautanki artiste of Hathras style. In another podcast you may listen Master Munna Lal at length where Nanda Devi also can be heard singing and talki...

20 March 2016. Behind the Nautanki stage in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Nanda Devi, 70 speaks of her half century life in Nautanki, a traditional art form of northern India.    At around 19th Min of this podcast joins Master Munna Lal, another veteran Nautanki artiste of Hathras style.  In another podcast you may listen Master Munna Lal at length where Nanda Devi also can be heard sing...

26 August 2018, Pune, Residence of singer Shaila Datar |  During my research for a documentary on the history of Marathi Theatre I met Shaila Datar. Here are some excerpts of her singing and an informal chats. Veteran art critic Sulabha Teranikar and Prachi Deval can also be heard in the recording. My friend cameraman Anirban Sadhu also is there with his baritone instructive voice to his team...

Recorded at Rajendra Bhawan, 18 November 2017, New Delhi

8th October 2015 I have visited the poet and journalist Veeren Dangwal (5 August 1947 - 28 September 2015) a couple of times when he was staying with his son in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. This recording have some of his unpublished poems which he recited for me and a casual gup shup. Image: My son Abaan, 10 years at that time,

Recorded at Rajendra Bhawan, 18 November 2017, New Delhi

Talking about his colleagues and the senior writers to whom he met.

Recorded on 26 October, 2020, SNA, New Delhi About Vijay Singh Known for his wit and insuppressible will to fight against odds, Vijay Singh is a theatre activist. He is based in Delhi and works at Sangeet Natak Academy as a coordinator cultural events. Well versed in Punjabi he is also presenting news and programs in AIR, New Delhi. For more than 2 decades he is working for FM Gold as a Radio Jock...

Followed by so many poems. Recorded in 2001 Device: Magnetic Tape Recorder Digitized: My digital station 2007

Poem 1: Sarnath Ki Ek Shaam Poem 2: Ishwar Agar Maine Arbi mein Prarthana Ki Recorded in New Delhi, 1994 Image courtesy Google

Recorded in New Delhi, 1994 Image courtesy junputh.com

Poem Aao followed by the speech. Recorded in New Delhi, 1994 Image Google

Recorded in New Delhi, 1994

This Guftagoo was recorded on 13 March 2015 when Bhalchand Nemade came Delhi to receive Jnanpith Award. Bhalchandra Vanaji Nemade (born 1938) is an Indian Marathi language writer, poet, critic and linguistic scholar. Beginning with his debut novel Kosala , Nemade brought new dimensions to the world of Marathi literature. This was followed by a tetralogy consisting of novels Bidhar , Hool , Jareela...

Manohar Shyam Joshi (9 August 1933 – 30 March 2006) was a Hindi writer, journalist and scriptwriter, most well known as the writer of Indian television's first soap opera, Hum Log (1984) and his early hits Buniyaad (1987), Kakkaji Kahin , a political satire and Kyaap , a novel which won him the Sahitya Akademi Award Manohar Shyam Joshi was also known for his novels which have dealt with topics ran...

Senior journalist Ashok Chaudhary is a noted cultural activist too. In his student life he was an integral part of students protest and constructive activism. He lives in Gorakhpur and a regular visitor to the Lokrang, Fazilnagar, Kushinagar.  In 2016 he sang this ghazal Rafta Rafta Nazarbandi ka jadu Ghat-ta jaye hai of Gorakh Pandey when the second night cultural programs were about to take...

Wall writing and wall paintings for the purposes of political, religious or commercial advertising has a long history. People working in this field usually get unnoticed. Very less has been thought and talked about their profession's intricacies. In the changing environment of digital advertising and advancement in printing technology these painters either losing their jobs or being underpaid and...

Rec in 1994, New Delhi Image courtesy Bharat S Tiwari

Recorded in 1994, New Delhi Image Courtesy Siraj Saxena

Model aur Kavi is a poem which Shamsher Bahadur Singh has dedicated to the painter Ghulam Rasool. Image Courtesy: Facebook