Intoxicated by Music

Truly, the legend of the legend of the legends - the magical voice, the guru of versatility - Rafi sahab, you can never be forgotten. You are the forever burning flame of our music's golden era, the soul of the melodies that many of us have grown up on. Mohammad Rafi's heart was set on singing at a tender age of 10. The young lad would listen to fakirs and saints singing to their Gods and he was enchanted by these songs. His family realized that God had bestowed a special talent of singing on him. After listening to this young boy's voice, a fakir once blessed him ' तुम्हारी आवाज़ क़ायनात पर हुक़ूमत करेगी ' - translated as 'Your voice will rule the world'. In devout muslim families, singing was then considered taboo and his father could not allow or encourage him to pursue his passion. His brother though decided to do everything to help this child prodigy and there started Rafi sahab's training under stalwarts such as Barkat Ali Khan, Chote G...

Sachin Dev Burman, popularly known as Burman Dada needs no introduction. A musician par excellence, with a style that was simplistic and without unnecessary exaggeration. His music is the music of nature, music of the river flooded with moonlight, music of boatmen, fishermen, and music of East Bengal. One can feel the strains of wind while listening to 'yeh raat yeh chaandni' from Jaal or the sounds of a flowing river in 'Suno more bandhu re'. He was born in the royal family of Tripura, the state where music is part of every facet of life. These early influences were instrumental in giving us the maestro who we know as SD Burman. There is a funny incident about how Ustad Bundu Khan, one of the greatest Sarangi players in the subcontinent, forgot his journey towards the bathroom after listening to Dada Burman singing. At a musicians' gathering, while walking towards the bathroom, he heard Sachin Dev Burman singing in his tent. Ustad sahab forgot his destination an...

Asha Bhonsle popularly known as Asha 'Tai' needs no introduction. Her voice cannot be confined to a certain type - sultry, sensuous, sombre, romantic, deep, soulful; the list is infinite. For many years, Asha's bold and sultry voice was considered perfect for the vamp or the 'other woman' characters, but not for the main heroine for whom Lata's voice was considered the only option. It was O P Nayyar who gave the opportunity to Asha Bhonsle and there has been no looking back since then. Her immensely popular collaborations with OP Nayyar, Pancham, Khayaam gave us masterpieces such as 'Jaaiye aap kahaan jaayenge', 'Abhi na jao chod ke', 'Do Lafzon ki hai', 'Piya tu ab to aaja' and many more. Calling both sisters (Lata & Asha) as talented is like holding a candle to the sun. I don't think that there are any words to describe the contributions by both to our music. I have always believed that Ma Saraswati has herself blesse...

During the initial days of blogging, my friend Pallavi and I were discussing music composers and singers whom we both loved and wanted to include in my posts. We unanimously agreed on Khayyam Sahab, as we both loved his music and had many a times enjoyed his timeless classics together. Today, as we pay our last respects to him, I wanted to write this post as a tribute. Khayyam Sahab grew up in a family environment filled with books and education. I read somewhere that he was so interested in music and sher-o-shayari that his aim was to become K L Saigal! As a result, he was thrown out of his home. It was during this time that he underwent classical music training. He was highly influenced by the works of Allama Iqbal and the bravery and principles of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. That influence stayed with him throughout his career and he never compromised with his ethics even when he did not get any film music to compose. His humility, his child like simplicity and serene smile stood ou...

What more can one write when so much has already been written for the icon Kishore Kumar! He  was the voice of countless gems of Hindi film music and one cannot write about Hindi music without talking about him.  For those who do not know, he was not a trained singer. There are popular stories about some of the songs such as "Mere naina saawan bhado'. This song was a heavy classical song and he asked Pancham to record Lata's version first so that he could listen to that and rehearse. It is one of the most popular songs of Kishore Kumar today and one cannot even think that he did not have the required training of Hindustani music. Similarly, in the very popular 'pag ghungroo baandh meera naache', there is a part which is purely sargam. He refused to sing the song itself as he was not at all comfortable singing the sargam. Bappi Lahiri who was the music director, had to take another singer just for the sargam so that Kishore Kumar would agree to sing that song....

Going through any stressful times bring me to my favorite stressbuster - Hindi Film songs. At the moment all one needs is comfort of beautiful memories and for me what better than the childhood and the years spent in City of Joy - Calcutta. This post is also for my brother and sister who have had a huge influence on my choice of music. Growing up in a family with siblings who are around a decade older to you brings along many benefits and for me one of these was the love for Hindi films music. My brother used to get these wonderful songs recorded in cassettes that were my treasure for years. Binaca geetmala was a regular feature on radio and there started my musical journey followed by day dreaming.   The first song I heard was 'Mana janaab ne pukara nahi'. The sound of the bicycle bell and ofcourse the song itself filled my days with melody and excitement. It was much later when I had started to recognize singers that I realized the playful and a bit flirtatious voice wa...

It is Madan Mohan's birthday today and I wanted to write this in dedication to his craft and genius. Such was his craft, that his music made each word of the song stand out. For those who may not know him by name would still know his songs very well - the highly popular Lag ja gale or the music of Veer Zaara is a perfect example of his musical genius. The list of his songs is astonishing and many are highly popular. Lag ja gale, Har taraf ab yahi afsaane hain, naina barse rimjhim, tu jahaan jahaan chalega, tum jo mil gaye ho - the mesmerizing moments are endless. I am sharing 5 of my favourites - this by no means is an easy feat considering that I love most of his songs. I have selected the ones that are not heard often. As I have found solace in them, may you enjoy their soothing company too. Betaab Dil Ki Tamanna: A masterpiece by Kaifi Azmi sahab, sung beautifully by Lata Mangeshkar, this song was released in the movie Hanste Zakhm in year 1973. All the songs of this mov...