The story of India, over the past seven decades, has been one of development and social and political change, which has often been forgotten, pushed to the recesses of our memories. Ankur, Seema and Sushant refresh those memories in Note by Note, linking the events of each year to a significant film song. For in a country that has a song for every season, every emotion, nothing qualifies as much as the film song to be a metaphor for the nation. The Hindi film song has uncannily encapsulated the sentiment of its era, reflecting, as well as forming, the consciousness of the country's identity and mood.

Differing in their journalistic experiences and personal interests, authors Ankur Bhardwaj, Seema Chisti and Sushant Singh teamed up to draw one song per year, to complement the twists and travails of 70 years of post-independence India. Note by Note captures the rhythm of the country’s socio-economic and political rumblings to the beat of popular film music and the symphony it creates is imaginative, interesting and engaging albeit in parts.