Saturday, May 12, 2018

Lopa Banerjee writes


For Julie Andrews and ‘The Sound of Music’

[Note: Dedicated to Julie Andrews, the adorable Maria of the 1965 blockbuster film ‘Sound of Music’ and her rhapsodic mountain songs in the magical realm of Salzburg.]

In the majestic Alps, hope arrived
In the face of a mad swirl, a petite woman danced.
“The hills are alive with the sound of music,
With songs they have sung for a thousand years…
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music.
My heart wants to sing every song it hears.”
The church over the hill, the coarse land of nuns
The diktats of a religion, apathetic to the power
Of beauty and the pure bliss of love
Could not bind her, music in her fun-filled veins
Deep-fried, memorable bites, the spice and flavors
Of Do-Re-Mi, twirled in the sweet spring breeze.

Such spring ecstasy, I know, is a soft, slow waking
From virgin dreams born in the womb, a revolution
Dressed up in nature’s choicest jewels.
The spirit dance goes on, she melts into
The infinite, her pastoral home.

Teach me how to craft a universe in trembling, in joy
Teach me how to hold on to “raindrops on roses,
Whiskers on kitten, bright copper kettles
and warm woolen mittens”, as I walk down
Open the doorway to your stories.
I wipe away
My soot and my lack of color,
My nothingness, my beauty that died
In the womb, where all our dreams germinated. 
Image result for julie andrews sound of music paintings





1 comment:

  1. Julie Andrews (Julia Elizabeth Wells) was a child star in the UK, at 1st with her parents but as a solo performer by the age of 12. After years of British TV, radio, and stage performances, at 19 she began appearing in New York musicals. In 1956 she starred in "My Fair Lady," Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical adaptation of Georhe Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion;" the show had the longest run on Broadway up to that time (2,717 performances), and she appeared with Bing Crosby in "High Tor," the 1st made-for TV movie, in 1956. Despite an Emmy nomination and a starring role in Lerner and Loewe's "Camelot," she was passed over for a reprise of her role as Eliza Doolittle in the movie version of "My Fair Lady." However, that allowed her to star in 1964 in "Mary Poppins," the biggest box-office draw in the history of Walt Disney studios; Andrews garnered an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy, beating out Audrey Hepburn who had been cast as Doolittle. This paved the way for an even bigger hit in 1965, "The Sound of Music," Robert Wise's adaptation of the 1959 musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The movie received 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and 2 Golden Globes (Best Motion Picture and Best Actress). After an initial theatrical release that lasted 4 1/2 years, and 2 re-releases, the film sold 283 million admissions worldwide and earned a total worldwide gross of $286,000,000. It broke box-office records in 29 countries and (in inflation-adjusted dollars) is still the 3rd-most successful film in US history. Many of the songs are still widely familiar, including the title song:

    The hills are alive with the sound of music
    With songs they have sung for a thousand years
    The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
    My heart wants to sing every song it hears

    My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
    That rise from the lake to the trees
    My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
    From a church on a breeze
    To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over
    Stones on its way
    To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray

    I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
    I know I will hear what I've heard before
    My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
    And I´ll sing once more
    --
    Do-Re-Mi

    Doe, a deer, a female deer
    Ray, a drop of golden sun
    Me, a name I call myself
    Far, a long, long way to run
    Sew, a needle pulling thread
    La, a note to follow so
    Tea, a drink with jam and bread
    That will bring us back to do
    --
    My Favorite Things

    Raindrops on roses
    And whiskers on kittens
    Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
    Brown paper packages tied up with strings
    These are a few of my favorite things
    Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
    Doorbells and sleigh bells
    And schnitzel with noodles
    Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
    These are a few of my favorite things
    Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
    Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
    Silver-white winters that melt into springs
    These are a few of my favorite things
    When the dog bites
    When the bee stings
    When I'm feeling sad
    I simply remember my favorite things
    And then I don't feel so bad
    Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
    Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
    Brown paper packages tied up with strings
    These are a few of my favorite things
    Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
    Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
    Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
    These are a few of my favorite things
    Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
    Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
    Silver white winters that melt into springs
    These are a few of my favorite things
    When the dog bites
    When the bee stings
    When I'm feeling sad
    I simply remember my favorite things
    And then I don't feel so bad

    ReplyDelete

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