Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Google Egypt Celebrates Thuma's Birthday

It turned out that the 4th of May is not only the birthday of our current president Hosni Mubarak but it was also the birthday of Um Kulthum despite we are not sure of the correct day but Google Egypt decided that it was her birthday.

Google Egypt surprised us today with this wonderful doodle dedicated to the lady to Thuma
Is not it beautiful !??
For those who do not know about the Dame of Arab tarab , I recommend that you read those two wonderful features about her in NPR : The Voice of Egypt and The lady of Cairo
 NPR ran these two stories covering the release of Umm Kulthum : A Voice like Egypt DVD
Whether she was born in December 1898 or in April 1904 Happy Birthday Thuma , you were and are still voice like Egypt.
A Voice like Egypt

And to the man who is celebrating his birthday today in Sharm El-Sheikh , I would like to say
Give me my freedom, release my hands
I've given you and did not try to retain anything1
Notes
1. after the six days war defeat Um Kulthum sang her wonderful "Ruins" at the Olympia theatre in France , when she reached to those two verses the whole theater went crazy as during that time specifically these two verses in an epic love poem by Ibrahim Nagi turned in to a powerful political message sent from the people to Nasser.

2 comments:

  1. UMM KALTHUM/Part 2/...HER Great concerts and 6 movies only that SHE appeared in made HER an ICON,and SHE will always BE & STAY,however/whatever S A D people said rumors or gossips concerning HER successful career,,now that SHEs not around to respond.... We know this fact: NO one is, except GOD-ALMIGHTY perfect,agreed??..Nothing or no person made HER successful except HER GOD given talent/voice and HER persistence to reach the TOP.... & to stay TOPS for over 5 continuous decades one got to be A REAL PHENOMENON & and Surely Lady UMM KALTHOUM was..,is,and always HER star will stay bright in the sky above...FOREVER!!An AMBASSADOR with one portfolio and
    that was HER Patriotisme and Extreme LOVE for HER country E G Y P T !! No person can take That from HER or deny this one FACT!!...SO on this occasion let^s all be grown-ups & truthful to ourselves and History, about HER works and efforts to keep EGYPT strong and HIGH CHIN/FOREHEAD..among all nations,SHE gave more than I or YOU or any HE or SHE could give to HIS/HER beloved country..for 5 consecutive decades seizless,and even after SHE, sadly ,is not present with us ,BUT HER GREAT VOICE/SAGA/HERITAGE should and would never get forgotten ...I lost my mother on 31Jan.1962/or55 years ago i grieved/mourned Alone for the loss of my dear Mother, and after 13 years while trying to get over this..,came my 2nd Great loss on..3rd/Feb./1975, its to hard to endure 2 big losses in such a short period between both..but to know that in UMM KALTHOUM^S case i was not the only one grieving/ mourning..but THE WHOLE ARAB WORLD... WAS!!..GOD BLESS HER SWEET & Undying memory..and to say to HER <> meaning:.IT^S CERTAINLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET YOU, OUR MOST BELOVED LADY UMM KALTHOUM!! Regards to all from London Is-Hak BARSOUMIAN.

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  2. UMM KALTHOUM Part 01/Friday 03rd February 2017 ,Dear GOD is that long now since 42 years ago/KAWKAB EL SHARQ/Star of the ORIENT or> AL SITT or LADY UMM KALTHOUM/ some pronounce it/OM KOLTHOM,Left us?? Years really do fly!! as much as we all MISS HER presence >personally< but HER, GOD given voice never left us since 03-February-1975,next day of my 28th birthday??i was in a shock,like Millions in the Arab World were..UNBELIEVABLE NEWS/but it was not APRIL 01, so this wasn^t some silly /sarcastic April FOOL wind=up..its SHOUBAT/February..later it seemed it was UNFORTUNATELY TRUE when Egyptian broadcasting stations all of them mourning this GIANT loss with reciting verses from THE HOLY QURAN..later other Radios in the region followed suit in doing the same on That SAD MONDAY morning..WE all tried to accept it but found it ever hard to sink it in our minds & hearts & soles <3 of them grew up loving HER voice for over half a century..like a mother been rudely interrupted singing lullabies or(Nursery Songs) to her child/children??..Great ladies such as Late Mother of the nation LADY HOUDA SHAARAWI + Mother of Egyptians LATE LADY SAFIA ZAGHLOUL in political arena.. also LADY UMM KALTHOUM was the voice that reached ALL..broke every barrier be it /class/age/gender..and later conquered the whole Arab world with her patriotic songs and anthems...SHE wasn^t a politician but HER war efforts/donations..moral BOOSTING ways..even though Egypt cities/towns in 1956 Suez then AL Nakssa 1967..kept Egypt together and stronger than before ..as the faith never got..LOST!!..not to ignore or deny Other Male/Female colleagues of HERS ,like Lady singer FAYDA KAMEL/Madam FAYZA AHMAD+SHADIA(YA HABIBTI YA MASR)GREAT Mr,Abdel HALIM HAFEZ/MOH.ABDELWAHAB/FARID AL ATTRASH/Mohammad FAWZI..many others,GOD bless them all whom were GENEROUS in donating their voices + financial give away to WAR EFFORTS..to avoid Egypt or Arab world ..SURRENDER!!and GOD, they SUCCEEDED..if not completely at least ...Approximately?? at least THEY DID something GOOD in their capacity..nobody can deny this fact..AT ALL!!...WE,those who still remember HER/every First Thursday of each month/concerts, in the 1950/60 and early few years of the 1970s??..as in those nights the streets of Egypt seemed as a curfew night...families around the radio sets in 1950 followed by +plus black & white T.V sets in the early 1960s and on..and now on all electronic means..HER sweet TARABic VOICE blares and will be heard for decades and decades..as such PHENOMENON can only be repeated, if were lucky,once every century..or not?!!SHE was that little village lass/child from TAMMAY EL ZAHAYRA AL TAKHT,5-6 Instrument players then the Orchestra of 25 and over ,players..was a GIANT step...with them SHE shook every Arab city/town/village...home foundations for over 5 decades...and still DOES.. now after 42 years ,still HER throne is vacant..The word then in those days was < SHE^S in our way & ruling the Song ARENA and the airwaves,?? well, now that SHE is & MOST SADLY not around for 42 long years,,then where are you whom accused her for monopoly.??.what^s STOPPING you to reach ,even the threshold of that throne?? UMM KALTHOUM a name was around 1400 years ago ,since the LAST PROPHET FROM GOD ALMIGHTY MOST BLESSED, AL NABI MOHAMMAD (S.ALLAH A.W.SALLAM)named one of HIS daughters,which inspired(Mr.)or AL Say-yed BELTAGI while reading The Holy-QURAN HIS wife gave birth to a DAUGHTER,to name her UMM KALTHOUM..never knowing that this NAME will change the Arab world with HER GOD GIVEN VOICE!! GOD bless HER and all whom gave us that Miraculous AMANA...and accompanied HER journey for half a century and over.//...By the way ,as i mentioned above 2/2/is my birthday date..i only remember it when i remember 3/2/1975 the date SHE heard >THE CALL< AND ATTENDED THE DIVINE INVITATION>that none of us can turn it down! From London/Is-Hak or Sahag BARSOUMIAN !!

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