Bollywood movie songs of 1940s are of considerable importance and interest, because the singing legends of later decades were taking their first tentative steps in their singing careers at that time. For instance, Rafi was just two movies old as a playback singer when 1947 began. In 1947, he sang in “Do Bhai” and “Jugnu”. The “Jugnu” song-”Yahaan badla wafaa ka bewafaayi ke siwaa kyaa hai” proved to be the first major hit of his singing career.

Here is a song that Rafi sung in “Do Bhai” (1947). This song may not have become as well known as the “Jugnu” song, but it is a nice song in its own merit. I heard this song for the first time just now, and I liked it.

This song is written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and music is composed by S D Burman. Here is this song from “Do Bhai” (1947)

song-Duniya mein meri aaj andhera hi andhera(Do Bhai) (1947) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, MD-S D Burman

Lyrics

Duniya mein meri aaj andhera hi andhera
andhera hi andhera
Bhagwan kahaan hai meri kismat ka sawera
kismat ka sawera
duniya mein meri aaj andhera hi andhera
andhera hi andhera

honthon se hansi aake hi
aanso nikal aaye
aanso nikal aaye
honthon se hansi aake hi
aanso nikal aaye
aanso nikal aaye
aayi thi khushi paas to
us dard ne ghera
us dard ne ghera
duniya mein meri aaj andhera hi andhera
andhera hi andhera

ro ro ke gale milne lagi
yaad tumhaari
yaad tumhaari
ro ro ke gale milne lagi
yaad tumhaari
yaad tumhaari
ab tak jise ye yaad thi
kyun pyaar hai mera
kyun pyaar hai mera
duniya mein meri aaj andhera hi andhera
andhera hi andhera

barbaad jawaani tumhe
ro ro ke pukaare
ro ro ke pukaare
barbaad jawaani tumhe
ro ro ke pukaare
ro ro ke pukaare
khushiyon ka zamaana koi
ro ro ke guzaare
aa dekh tere ishq mein
kyaa haal hai mera
kyaa haal hai mera
duniya mein meri aaj andhera hi andhera
andhera hi andhera
Bhagwan kahaan hai meri kismat ka sawera
kismat ka sawera

Yes..it is the year of reckoning when China and India will supposedly ‘catch-up’ with the US and Uk! Or at least according to Dr. Rossling!!

Listen to this fascinating TED Talk by this doctor-cum-intellectual who has plotted the per capita income of countries against time since 1858..even if a bit naive from an economist’s standpoint (eg: no mention of the Great Depression in 1930s, no mention of World War II + economic performance can’t just be measured by per capita income)..the graph however is splendidly done even within its limited scope!

http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_asia_s_rise_how_and_when.html

1947 was a very important year for me because this was the year that my mum and dad met and began a romance that has led ultimately to this blog.

From the way dad used to talk about being a teenager I have always imagined the post war years to be an almost idyllic existence, Enid Blyton sort of days with long hot summers, blue skies, bike rides and picnics, where young people were polite and had good manners and didn’t spend their evenings hanging around Tesco Express with a bottle of cider, frightening the old folk and no one had heard of anti-social behaviour orders.

These were surely days of optimism with a country led by a Labour Government that had been elected in the summer of 1945 with a landslide majority and a promise to make everything better and which had embarked on a radical programme of nationalisation including coalmining, electricity supply and railways.  These were the days of the new National Health Service and the Welfare State all based on the optimistic principles of socialism.  And to add to all this good news the United States announced the Marshall Plan to pay for the reconstruction of Europe and that meant over three billion dollars was on the way to the United Kingdom to rebuild its cities and its economy.  This was the year of the inauguration of the United Nations which meant peace for ever more and the year that Princess Elizabeth married Prince Mountbatten.

The only thing that let 1947 down was the weather and the Britain experienced the worst winter of the century.  After the Second World War Britain was bombed out, bankrupt, exhausted and desperately short of fuel and the winter of 1947 sank the country to a new level of deprivation.

The winter began deceptively, with just a brief cold snap before Christmas 1946.  Snow lay thick on the ground when, in the middle of January, temperatures soared so high that it felt as if spring had arrived early.  The snow thawed so rapidly that it set off floods, just as hurricane-force winds brought down roofs, trees and even houses and the real winter arrived soon afterwards as the country was gripped in an Arctic freeze that lasted for two months, with snow whipped into monstrous drifts that buried roads and railways.

It became the coldest February ever recorded and there was virtually no sunshine for almost the whole month.  The freeze paralysed coalmines, with coal stocks often stuck at the collieries by railways and roads buried in snow.  A week after the freeze began the Government ordered electricity supplies to be cut to industry, and domestic electricity supplies to be turned off for five hours each day, to conserve coal stocks.  Television was closed down, radio output reduced, newspapers cut in size and magazines ordered to stop publishing.

Food supplies shrank alarmingly and rations were cut even lower than they had been during the war.  Farms were frozen or snowed under, and vegetables were in such short supply that pneumatic drills were used to dig up parsnips from frozen fields.  For the first time, potatoes were rationed after seventy-thousand tons were destroyed by the cold.  The Government tried a deeply unpopular campaign to encourage everyone to eat a cheap South African fish called snoek, and millions of tins of it were imported, but it tasted disgusting and was used eventually as cat food.

March turned out even worse than February and on the 5^th there was the worst blizzard of the 20^th  century.  Supplies of food shrank so low that in some places the police asked for authority to break open stranded lorries carrying food cargoes.  Eventually, on March 10^th a thaw set in and triggered another spectacular disaster.  After weeks of deep frost, the ground was so hard that the melting snow ran off into raging torrents of floodwater and, to make things worse, a huge storm dropped heavy rain.  Indeed, it was the wettest March on record in England and Wales. 

Less than two years after winning the war, the nation was left freezing cold, plunged into darkness and on the brink of starvation and for many people it showed that national planning and socialism did not work.  The Government was inevitably blamed for the disaster  and was turned out of office in a landslide defeat at the next general election in 1950.

Life was especially grim in the big cities and after the experience of the winter I suppose it was nice to have a holiday and that summer mum left London for a few days with a friend in Rushden in Northamptonshire and at some point during that week she met my dad.  He was sixteen but looked younger, he hadn’t finished growing so was still quite small, his nickname was Pid as in little piddy widdy, and he he had boyish face and an impish grin with piercing cobalt blue eyes and a distinctive hairstyle with a fringe that flopped over his forehead in a Hugh Grant sort of way.  He obviously made an immediate impact on the young girl visiting from London and they spent the rest of their lives together.

Not straight away of course because mum had to go back to London to finish school and here is something else that I find absolutely charming.  These were days before mobile phones and instant messenging, even before regular telephones so the only way they had of keeping in touch and keeping the romance going was by sending each other letters and photographs.  They kept this up for three years before dad was called up for national service in the RAF and he moved to London where he stayed until they married in 1953.

In 1948 dad left school and went to work for his father in the family business, a grocery store in Rushden, but they sold that sometime at the end of the decade and they all moved to Leicester and dad got his first proper job at Jessops.  I don’t know how much he earned, it couldn’t have been a lot, but from photoraphs it would seem that he spent quite a lot of it on clothes and he was always a smart, well turned out young man with an impressive wardrobe.

During the war most kinds of food came to be rationed, as were clothing and petrol.  Clothing was rationed on a points system.  Initially the allowance was for approximately one new outfit per year but as the war progressed the points were reduced to the point where the purchase of a coat constituted almost an entire year’s clothing.  By the end of the war the clothing ration was thirty-six points a year.   This didn’t go very far, it was two points for a pair of knickers, five points for a man’s shirt, five points for a pair of shoes, seven points for a dress and twenty-six points for a man’s suit.  Clothing rationing points could be used for wool, cotton and household textiles.  People had extra points for work clothes, such as overalls for factory work.  No points were required for second-hand clothing and fur coats, but their prices were fixed and before rationing lace and frills were popular on knickers but these were soon banned so material could be saved.

Rationing continued after the end of the war and in fact it became even stricter after the war ended.  Bread, which was not rationed during the war, was rationed beginning in 1946 and potato rationing began in 1947.  Sweet rationing didn’t end until February 1953, and sugar rationing ended in September of that year.  The final end of all rationing did not come until July 1954, after I was born, with the end of it on meat and bacon.

The picture at the top was taken in 1947 and his clothes look a bit shabby and worn through and they are in total contrast to the one below taken two years later on holiday in Skegness.  It’s a bit of a surprise because I don’t remember him being particularly interested in clothes and he would make most things last much longer than they could be reasonably expected to but for a couple of years in the late 1940s he obviously cared about his clothes and his appearance.  Or perhaps, judging by how much he had grown in two years, replacement clothes were a regular necessity during that time.

I like this picture, dad was eighteen and looks smart, self assured and full of confidence, mum was sixteen and looks really happy to be with this really special man.

• 1900-1909

Lo irreal: La chica Gibson      

Dibujo creado por Charles Dana Gibson, pronto se convirtió en el ideal femenino de entonces y se transformó en todo un patrón de vida. Continúa…

Lo real: El vintage

El término era utilizado en las bodegas para señalar los vinos de las mejores cosechas, y derivó al mundo de la moda a partir de 1900 utilizándose en los diseños clásicos o retro. Como ejemplo actual tenemos los Oscar 2001 en los que Renee Zellweger y Julia Roberts lucieron uno de esos diseños vintage. Continúa…

1910-1919

Lo irreal: Fotografías de Hoyningen Huene para Vogue

Lo real: ‘La edad de la Inocencia’

Obra publicada por Edith Wharton en 1920, que recibiría el Premio Pulitzer un año después y que marcó un hito en el mundo de la moda, pues supuso una revolución para las mujeres que se vió reflejado en su forma de vestir. Continúa…

Lo real:

1920-1929

Lo irreal: ‘La Garçonne’

Publicada en 1922 supuso un gran eco a un nuevo estilo de vestir entre las mujeres de la época: pelo corto, pantalones y silueta tubular que masculinizan a la mujer creando una nueva feminidad. Continúa…

Lo real: Les Années Folles

A lo largo de los años 20′ la alta costura francesa vive su mejor momento. Son los años dorados de la moda, Vionnet, Poiret, Lanvin o Chanel liberaron a la mujer provocando un cambio en su manera de vestir y de pensar. Es una época para la exhibición del cuerpo femenino, la diversión y el consumismo. Continúa…

 1930-1939

Lo irreal: Greta Garbo y Marlene Dietrich

Son las máximas representantes de los años dorados del cine de Hollywood; años en los que la sensualidad, la provocación y el erotismo eran las máximas para toda creación filmográfica. Y no era menos en el mundo de la moda, en 1930 el modelo a seguir fueron las actrices como Greta Garbo y Marlene Dietrich, mujeres de hombros anchos y caderas delicadas, altas y delgadas. En este período el punto erótico se centró sobre todo en la espalda, resaltada por pronunciados escotes que provocaban más de un suspiro en el ámbito masculino. Las prendas de la época envolvían a la mujer en un halo de encanto, sensualidad y misterio. 

Lo real: Coco Chanel es quien lleva los pantalones

Su gran personalidad y su particular estilo a la hora de vestir marcaron un antes y un después en el pensamiento de la mujer. Después de que Poiret les quitase el corsé, Coco Chanel fue más allá en su provocación y les puso pantalones. Toda una revolucionaria. Continuar…
 

1940-1949

Lo irreal: Caldeando el ambiente

Pese a la austeridad reinante en toda Europa en estos años, Nueva York y París se meten de lleno en una lucha por ser consideradas capital del arte contemporáneo. La moda se concibe como un arte en su máxima expresión y los escaparates no se utilizan sólo para vender objetos, sino también para contar historias a través de fotografías. Continúa…

Lo real: El New Look de Christian Dior

Fue todo un acierto que le consagró a lo más alto en el mundo de la moda. Tras los oscuros años de la II Guerra Mundial, la Línea Corola presentada por el diseñador en 1947 y más conocida por New Look, pretendía reencontrar a la mujer femenina y coqueta con faldas con mucho vuelo, cintura ceñida y hombros redondeados. Continúa…

1950-1959

Lo irreal:  American Way of Life

Tras una época gris de austeridad y reserva, en los años 50′ las pasarelas empiezan a reflejar unas ganas enormes de vivir y,  por supuesto, de consumir. Es el momento de salir de casa, tomarse un tiempo para el ocio y divertirse, dejando todo lo malo en el pasado. Y eso lo saben reflejar muy bien las revistas que presentan la moda como un juego, el juego de jugar a ser la deportista, la chica sweater, la pin-up, la chica ‘Greace’; incluso ser ama de casa tiene su punto. 

 Lo real: La Jolie Madame

La colección otoño–invierno presentada por Balmain en 1952, que recibió el mismo nombre que uno de sus perfumes, Jolie Madame fue una propuesta que definió el estilo de la mujer moderna, “que debe vestirse de acuerdo al momento del día y a la actividad social que desempeña”. El estilo de los vestidos es: corte medio, talle marcado y decoraciones.

The year is 1947

Some of you will recall that on July 8, 1947, a little over 60 years ago, witnesses claim that an unidentified flying object (UFO) with  five aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and mule ranch just outside  Roswell , New Mexico. This is a well known incident that many say has long been covered up by the U.S. . Air Force and other federal agencies and organizations.

However, what you may NOT know is that in the month of April 1948, nine months after that historic day, the following people were born:

Albert A. Gore, Jr.

Hillary Rodham

John F. Kerry

William J. Clinton

Howard  Dean

Nancy Pelosi

Dianne Feinstein

Charles E. Schumer

Barbara Boxer

See what happens when aliens breed with sheep and jackasses?  I certainly hope this bit of information clears up a lot of things for you. It did for me. No wonder they support the bill to help illegal aliens! Now You Know

pianist and genius of modern music thelonious monk.

i recently had the urge to listen to some early blue note – “the amazing bud powell,” “the genius of modern music.” i put the monk albums on shuffle, and suddenly, in between “ruby my dear” and “well you needn’t,” something exploded. that explosion was monk’s 1947 re-imagining of “carolina moon,” a whirlwind of music if there ever was one. the piece begins with a piano intro, seemingly both in and out of time. monk states part of the melody, and then repeats the first line of the a section four times. he is playing the tune as a slow waltz, and so are the horns (it’s a bit disjointed, but they are). but when the ensemble bursts in, the complexity is as close as it can get to overwhelming while still forming a cohesive and astonishingly advanced whole. the drummer on the session is max roach, and he comes in on the down beat with a fast, fast 4/4 swing, while he accents the one of every slow 3/4 bar with the bass drum, snare drum or cymbal. monk does this too, while the horns (kenny dorham, lou donaldson, and the great lucky thompson) continue the melody in the original 3/4 time established by monk’s intro. then the solos begin. each solo is a gem, but all three horn solos are made even more exciting and interesting by the conflicting time sgnatures – when the solos begin, monk and max continue accenting the one of every 3/4 bar, but max has half-timed his swing feel. coupled with the 6/4 walking line from the bass, this means that monk has created, in effect, three separate tunes from one recording. the listener can choose to focus on the 4/4, the 3/4, or the 6/4 – and each new focus changes the way all the elements of the tune are heard. lou donaldson’s wonderful solo, for instance, is supremely executed and melodically logical in 3/4 and 6/4, and delightfully quirky and off-center when listened to against the 4/4 from max. even in the rhythmically and harmonically advanced world of contemporary jazz, i have rarely heard such an advanced yet cohesive recording, and never have i heard one that manages to combine these disparate elements into a cohesive whole while retaining each of those elements’ individuality. it’s amazing even for the jazz of today, let alone that of 1947. the genius of modern music, indeed.

Dearest Madelyn,

It’s February of ‘47. I haven’t seen you in three years. I’m not even sure where to send this, you weren’t here when I got home. But this you already know.

What you probably don’t realize is that a day hasn’t gone by without you with me. The memory of you hiding behind your mama. The image of you hanging sheets in the backyard, the sun gleaming off your dark hair. So many memories that kept me hopeful. Then I came home and you were so gone that I’ve yet to find you.

I talked to Aunt Vicky, she misses you, but couldn’t help me in my search. She could only tell me east. Of course, I’m in Washington, everything is east. I’ve sent letters to every person I know. All the buddies I made while I was away. They all saw that picture of you, the one in the pink dress, they are looking too.

I’m not sure what I will do when I find you. Probably start with more questions than you will ever be able to answer. What happened to the county payroll the night you left is on that list. How you ended up engaged to my brother, it’s up there too.  Where you’ve been, have you been happy, do you miss me… Too many questions.

When I find you, I will find my answers as well.

Galen Langley

Read more to learn what happens when Galen finds Maddy in Finding Madalyn coming soon.

On November 2, 1947, the largest flying boat ever constructed lifted off on its maiden flight near Long Beach, California.  Officially called the H-4 Hercules, it was built by billionaire aircraft designer (and noted eccentric) Howard Hughes, and it was immense.  The contract for three prototypes, which was awarded to Hughes in 1942 with the help of famous shipbuilder Henry Kaiser, came during wartime, when aircraft metals were scarce and mostly spoken for.  The size of the plane dictated that more abundant materials be used, so it was made almost entirely of birch wood.

The time required to design and build the prototype (partially due to Hughes’ fanatical attention to detail) meant that it was finished too late to serve in the Second World War, but it was still a very impressive aircraft.  It’s 320-foot wingspan was (and still is and probably will be in the future) the largest ever.  It’s also one of the tallest, with it’s rear stabilizer reaching nearly 80 feet skyward.

It was powered by eight 3000-horsepower Pratt and Whitney engines, the same engines powering the brand-new Convair B-36 Peacemaker.  Those engines (with a bit of jet assistance) would keep B-36’s aloft for more than a decade.

But for the H-4, just 30 seconds over the water would suffice, because that’s all the longer the flight lasted…and Howard Hughes’ labor of love would never fly again.  The public, in an attempt to ridicule this “one-flight-wonder”, called the plane the “Spruce Goose”.  Hughes loathed the name, and not just because the public got the type of wood wrong.  But it was the name that stuck.

Recommended Activity:  Visit the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum – The Spr…the H-4 Hercules is there, along with a bunch of other cool stuff.

Horace McCoy, MAS NÃO SE MATA CAVALO? [título original: They shoot horses, don't they?], tradução de Erico Veríssimo, Porto Alegre: Livraria do Glôbo, 1947. /// Sobrecapa policromada assinada «Z&L Haap 47», capa com uma gravura a preto e branco assinada «K.», bastante distintas uma da outra. /// 204 páginas. 11,5 x 18,5 cm. Exemplar razoável, com ligeiras falhas de papel na sobrecapa. /// Preço: 8 euros.

Hjemløs

- I sit eget land -

Efter udgivelsen af min første blog ved navn; “Hjemløs i sit eget land” blev jeg mødt af en del reaktioner, både positive og negative. Dette overraskede mig forholdsvis meget da jeg ikke havde regnet med at uafhængige personer ville interessere sig for en skoleblog, men sådan kan man jo blive overrasket. Så nu har jeg valgt at udgive endnu blog, som en form for follow-up på min første. Her komemr den:

Efter Israel i 1948 fik sin uafhængighed har landet været et mekka for etniske problemer. På den ene side har vi det jødiske folk og på den anden det muslimske. Begge disse lande mener at Palæstina retmæssigt tilhører dem. Personligt ansér jeg landet for at tilhøre det jødiske folk, dette standpunkt baserer jeg på en hel del forskellige argumenter som jeg nu vil ridse op. Jeg vil dog samtidig understrege at disse argumenterer ikke justificerer udryddelse af palæstinensiske civile osv. På den anden side justificerer de argumenter som det palæstinensiske folk har, ikke for selvmordsbomber og andre ekstremistiske udøvelser.

Jeg mener personligt ikke at man kan bruge oldtidshistorie som et argument i vore dage, da dette (som nævnt i tidligere kommentarer til min 1. blog) vil være fundamentalistisk. For at finde det første argument skal vi tilbage til slutningen af 1. verdenskrig: Denne zionistiske videnskabsmand havde i en længere periode hjulpet Storbritannien med udviklingen af våben, dette bar til sidst frugt og det lykkedes den jødiske professor at udvikle noget ammunition som sikrede England et vigtigt militært fremskridt. Som tak for dette valgte den daværende engelske regering at skænke “Det britiske mandat Palæstina” til jøderne. Allerede inden da havde jøder fra hele østeruopa påbegyndt deres “aliyah” til Palæstina, og det havde faktisk lykkedes det jødiske folk at slå sig forholdvist fredeligt ned i Palæstina.

I 46′er opstod der borgerkrig i Palæstina da der opstod en fejde mellem de britiske imperialister og de arabiske palæstinensere. I 1947 valgte briterne at trække sig ud af landet, og dette gav det jødiske folk en mulighed for at sikre det land de havde skrevet under på i 1917 (Balfour deklarationen). For at gøre en lang historie kort, lykkedes det i November 1947 det jødiske folk at få uafhængighed. Palæstina blev opdelt i to stater hvoraf det ene var jødisk og det andet Muslimsk. Selvom dette var en nedgradering af aftalen fra 1917 var dette et skridt i den rigtige vej. Et skridt man kunne bygge videre på.

- Victor Koppel.

Eine lange Zeit der Ungewissheit ist beendet. Herbert Becker hat im fernen Kaukasus das Grab seines Vaters gefunden. „Leider hat meine Mutter das nicht mehr erlebt, sie starb in der Ungewissheit, dass mein Vater in Rumänien vermisst sei“, erzählt Herbert Becker. Er ist Jahrgang 1940 und hat seinen Vater 1944 zum letzten Mal gesehen. „Meine Erinnerungen daran sind nur schwach, aber ich habe Fotos aufbewahrt“, so der Trebbiner.

Die Familie hatte 1947 die Nachricht erhalten, dass Fritz Becker, Jahrgang 1912, in Rumänien vermisst sei. „Meine Mutter hat noch bis 1954 gehofft, als die letzten Kriegsgefangenen in die Heimat zurückkehrten“, so Herbert Becker. In all den Jahren trug er das Schicksal seines Vaters im Herzen, vor allem, seitdem er selbst Frau und Kinder hatte. „Irgendwie hat sich die Geschichte in der Familie wiederholt. Auch mein Vater hatte seinen Vater als Kind zum letzten Mal gesehen, bevor dieser im Ersten Weltkrieg fiel.“ Inzwischen hat auch Herbert Becker Gewissheit, dass sein Vater am 18. Oktober 1944 im Lager Georgijewsk verstorben ist. Im August 1994 traf eine entsprechende Mitteilung vom Suchdienst des DRK ein.

Die damaligen GUS-Staaten hatten zu dieser Zeit die bis dahin geheim gehaltenen Archive geöffnet und so wurde auch das Schicksal von Fritz Becker bekannt. Allerdings konnte die genaue Grablage nicht mitgeteilt werden. „Zumindest war für mich mit einiger Sicherheit die Ungewissheit beendet“, erinnert sich Herbert Becker. Er bedauert nur, dass seine Mutter das nicht mehr erfahren hat, sie war gerademal ein halbes Jahr zuvor verstorben. „Wir hatten immer an Rumänien gedacht. Jetzt war es der Kaukasus. Wenn wir das geahnt hätten. Zu DDR-Zeiten waren wir schon einmal in der Nähe, zu unserer Silberhochzeit“, erzählten Beckers. Sie warteten inzwischen auf weitere Informationen. „Ich habe zahlreiche Telefonate mit dem DRK-Suchdienst und dem Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge geführt.“

Im Sommer 2009 teilte der Volksbund die genaue Lage der Grabstätte von Fritz Becker mit: Georgijewsk, Friedhof des Lagers 147, Quadrat 3, Grab 22. Im Brief hieß es zugleich, dass es sich um eine schwierige Lage im Kaukasus handele, vermutlich um das Gelände eines Gefängnisses. Über den Volksbund gäbe es keine offizielle Reisemöglichkeit dorthin. Herbert und Hannelore Becker waren sich längst einig, dass sie die Grabstätte unbedingt aufsuchen würden.

Vom 5. bis 9. Oktober erlebten sie die aufregendste Zeit in diesem Jahr. Beckers hatten erfahren, dass ein Mann aus Nürnberg bereits Georgijewsk besucht und dort das Grab seines Vaters gefunden hätte, und sie fanden auch das Reisebüro in Köln, das seinerzeit für den Nürnberger die Reise in den Kaukasus organisiert hatte. Jetzt unternahmen die Kölner das Gleiche für das Trebbiner Ehepaar. Und dann war es soweit. Die Reise in den Kaukasus klappte wunderbar. „Nach einigem Hin und Her fanden wir in Begleitung einer 22 Jahre alten Dolmetscherin auch das Gefängnis und von dort wurden wir weitergeleitet“, so Herbert Becker. Schließlich hatten sie Unterlagen und Namenslisten des internationalen Soldatenfriedhofs in der Hand. Sie fanden auch den Namen Fritz Becker. Der Friedhof war eine Wiese, nicht einmal eingezäunt. Die verrosteten Blechtafeln nur schwer lesbar.

Aber dann stand Herbert Becker am Grab seines Vaters. Ein bewegender Augenblick. Hannelore Becker hielt den Moment im Bild fest. „Wir fanden im Kaukasus Hilfe und Verständnis. Dafür sind wir sehr dankbar“, so Beckers.

(Quelle: Uta Franke – MAZ Online)

Nehru bidding farewell to Edwina after partition

The much hyped Hollywood movie Indian Summer being produced by Universal Studios has been put on the backburner, at least for now. Indian Summer is a story of the alleged relation between Edwina Mountbatten (wife of last Viceroy of British ruled India, Lord Mountbatten) and the first Indian prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.  The film is based on Alex Von Tunzel-Mann’s book – Indian Summer, The Secret History of the End of Empire.

Variety magazine reported that the movie which was planned to be shot in India starting early 2010 has now been put on hold by Universal Studios due to two main reasons. The first being differences in the budget being granted by the production house and actual estimates by the director Helmer Joe Wright who is now believed to be waiting for better market situations to emerge. Universal had approved a budget of under 30 million while the actual being projected are between USD 30-40 million.

The second reason behind the decision was the logistic issues of filming a major production in India. Further the creative differences over how much to emphasize the alleged love affair between the two historic figures also seems to have become a bottleneck.

Meanwhile Nehru’s niece Nayantara Sahgal in an interview said that the relation between two was purely platonic. Lady Pamela Mountbatten, daughter of Earl Mountbatten in an interview to CNN-IBN (which was published in Indian daily The Hindu) had also voiced similar sentiments and termed the relation “platonic” while confessing that Edwina had other affairs.

Some Indian directors also seem skeptical to take up the project given the controversy around the subject. While individuals and govt. deliberate on what and how to show an Indian director already seems to be pitching in to take up the role of filming the saga.

British daily The Telegraph meanwhile reported that the Indian govt. had approved the script sans the intimate scenes and the reasons for shelving the movie is simply financial. Foreign movies shot in india need approval of a vetting committee.

NowPublic

“My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation.”

(Muhammad Ali Jinnah,Eid-ul-Azha Message to the Nation October 24, 1947).

Avant son annexion par la France suite au traité de Paris (1947), La Brigue portait le nom italien de Briga Marittima : cette commune, bien éloignée de la mer, n’était qualifiée de « maritime » qu’en raison de sa position dans le bassin qui se déverse vers la Méditerranée par la Roya et par opposition au hameau de Briga Alta, situé au Piémont.

Durant de nombreux siècles, l’économie de la communauté de La Brigue était basée sur un système agro-sylva-pastoral. C’est surtout grâce à l’élevage ovin que La Brigue avait acquis un certaine prospérité à la fin du Moyen Age et au cours du XVI^e siècle. Le vente d’agneaux de lait était sa spécialité. Le commerce de la laine explique même la présence d’une importante communauté de négociants juifs dans le village (une “rue du Ghetto” y subsiste). Mais, au cours des XVII et XVIII^e siècle, la Commune de La Brigue commence à céder ses droits de pâturage pour rembourser ses créanciers, ce sont les “bandites”, responsables de la dégradation des prairies d’altitude. Les bénéficiaires des droits de bandite pour rentabiliser leurs acquisitions pratiquaient le surpâturage, sachant que les Brigasques, de toutes façons devraient leur fournir le fourrage quand l’herbe viendrait à manquer. Cette ancienne économie s’étiole au cours du XIX^e siècle avec une embellie après 1860. En effet, à cette date, tout le Comté de Nice est rattaché à la France, sauf Tende et La Brigue.

En effet, ce territoire inclus la ligne de crête allant du Col de Tende au “Balcon de Marta” en passant par le massif du Marguareïs. Il s’agit d’une position bien trop stratégique pour permettre que le Piémont, en passe de conclure l’Unité d’Italie (qui interviendra l’année suivante), cède ces terres à la France. L’enjeu est clair: d’éventuelles positions fortifiées françaises avec les canons pointés sur la ville de Cuneo, point d’accès à la Plaine du Pô, donnerait en cas de conflit un avantage gigantesque à la France, dont les troupes ne seraient plus qu’à deux ou trois jours de marche de Turin, la capitale. Le Piémont ne peut donc pas se priver de ce rempart naturel que sont les Alpes. Cavour et la diplomatie italienne finiront par trouver un compromis avec le “Second Empire”. Le Comté de Nice sera bel et bien rattaché à la France par le Traité de Turin (1860), pour respecter l’engagement pris vis à vis de Napoléon III qui avait promis un soutien militaire au Piémont dans la guerre contre l’Autriche (bien que cet engagement ait été tardif et dont l’efficacité demeure encore aujourd’hui objet de discussions). Néanmoins, Tende et La Brigue seront officiellement déclarés “territoires de chasse personnelle du Roi”, donc inaliénables.

Pour consoler les Tendasques et les Brigasques de leur “infortune”, privés par la nouvelle frontière de débouché sur la mer et sur les florissantes activités de la côte Niçoise, on accorde à la Haute Roya des franchises douanières : les produits agricoles vendus sur la Côte ne seront pas soumis à la douane. Un produit qui séjourne sur le territoire des deux Communes un certain temps est considéré comme Brigasque ou Tendasque. C’est l’époque des “dichiare” (déclarations) où la Brigue et Tende deviennent miraculeusement productrices d’agrumes!

La Brigue, ainsi que Tende, sera finalement rattachée à la France le 16 septembre 1947, suite aux accords fixés par le Traité de Paris et confirmés le 12 octobre suivant par un plébiscite supervisé par des observateurs internationaux.