Van Shipley was the first electric guitarist in India. The name Van Shipley is Methodist, he [was] from Lucknow [Uttar Pradesh, India]. He designed his own electric eight string steel guitar in the 1940's. The reason he did this was that he'd studied Indian classical music under Ustad Alaudin Khan, the leading classical musician in India, who was also a contemporary of Ravi Shankar. He also studied the violin with a German teacher... so he made an eight string guitar, instead of a five string. His guitar was a solid guitar, designed to his style at the time, it was futuristic. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Jun 14, 2009 -
10 comments
Dr. Frances W. Pritchett, Professor of Modern Indic Languages at Columbia University, New York, has created
a superb online collection of resources, all about
India and South Asia, its art, history, literature, architecture and culture. Her
Indian Routes section (the
Index page) is a particularly rich resource. Her vast, colorful and informative site also has many great images. Check out her "scrapbook pages" on the
Princes l the
Ghaznavids l
British Rule l
Women's Spaces l
Perspectives on Hinduism.
[more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Jun 9, 2009 -
14 comments
Hippie Masala [masala is the Hindi word for spice mix] is a documentary which poignantly depicts the lives of a handful of old hippies from different countries, who not only remained in India but also remained in the caricature roles of a small few in those days. These are, in some ways, lost souls stuck in the amber of the 1960's and 70's and this movie offers glimpses into their lives now.
SnagFilms also has 510 other excellent documentaries to watch for free online.
[more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Dec 27, 2008 -
24 comments
Shantaram is the story of a violent man's search for the man of peace within himself.
Gregory David Roberts, clip 1,
clip 2,
3 and
4, is an ex-junkie, former gun runner; drugs, forged passports and black market currency dealer; was a member of the Bombay Mafia and close with a Mafia don there; acted in Bollywood movies; fought with the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan; imprisoned in an Australian maximum security prison with a 19 year sentence and escaped to the Bombay slums, where he set up a free clinic. His
semi-autobiography is called Shantaram, which means man pf peace.
Review on Shunya. His
website.
Movie due out in 2009.
[more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Oct 21, 2008 -
30 comments
Until 1947/48, the complex political map of India (by which I mean pre-Independence India, including Pakistan and Bangladesh) included over 650 quasi-independent Indian Princely States. Indian royalty: In
hats,
turbans and,
more turbans, sometimes
colorful, often
decorated with
amazing gems ("It is believed that the entire collection of Pearls in the Nizam's collective collection could fill up an Olympic size swimming pool.") like
emeralds,
diamonds (
large diamonds),
pearls,
sapphires. Usually with
beards and moustaches, on a
throne.
Princesses.
Reflections of a Princess (audio and video).
Queen mothers (in
animation).
The Royal Houses Of Punjab. The
Maharaja of Patiala had 365 wives. In
satins and
brocade, with
swords. Owners of stylish cars, like a
1937 Delahaye Type 135 Figoni & Felashi,
bottled water, extraordinary
interior design,
lavish architecture, in
their many palaces, from a place
to watch cockfights to special
palaces to keep their
harem.
[more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Oct 18, 2008 -
19 comments
A fascinating story of the first known, Western transsexual, Tibetan Buddhist novice monk:
Laurence Michael Dillon (born Laura Maude Dillon, May 1, 1915 - May 15, 1962) was a British physician and the first female-to-male transsexual to undergo phalloplasty. His brother, Sir Robert Dillon, was the eighth Baronet of Lismullen in Ireland. The editor of Debrett's told Time Magazine that Dillon was unquestionably next in line for the baronetcy: The unwanted press attention led Dillon to flee to India, and then to a Tibetan monastery.
Girls Will Be Boys, a review of
The First Man-Made Man: The Story of Two Sex Changes, One Love Affair, and a Twentieth-Century Medical Revolution, by Pagan Kennedy.
Photograph of Michael Dillon as a monk.
[more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Sep 8, 2008 -
15 comments
Bollywood Dreams. Bollywood in a nutshell: Bollywood is the name given to the Bombay (Mumbai)-based Hindi-language film industry in India. Bollywood films are colorful, crammed with
singing,
dancing, loads of
costume changes. In the past there were often absurd and hilarious take-offs on Western films or superstars, such as the
Beatles,
Michael Jackson ,
Elvis,
70's music and
hair styles. Spectacular collection of
Bollywood posters and
vintage original poster art for sale and
t-shirts.
Stats and
faqs. The
history of Bollywood, brief
chronology [pdf]. The main
actors,
images. The main
actresses,
images. Some of the
renowned songs and the
singers who sang them. Bollywood
song lyrics and audio at the excellent Music India Online. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Jan 27, 2007 -
74 comments
The tabla is the most popular and widely used drum of North India.
Origins (embedded sound and mp3) of the tabla and tabla bols, the fascinating
spoken sounds of the percussive beat. [more]
posted by nickyskye
on Aug 12, 2006 -
19 comments
