Intoxicated by Music

One can, to some extent, define the voice quality of exemplary singers such as Asha Bhonsle, Lata ji,  however it is not easy to classify the voice of the supremely talented Geeta Dutt. Her voice - as sweet as honey and yet the depths of her voice carried the pain of broken heart like none other. Her voice has the quality of taking the listener through the same emotion that the song represented. When she sang 'Thandi Hawa Kali ghata', one can feel the playful breeze or in the song - 'Koi door se aawaz de', the listeners can feel the haunting sadness of a woman. It was the amazing 'Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya' in 1947 that made Geeta Dutt a household name. While she sang for many composers, her songs with Dada Burman, O.P.Nayyar and Hemant Kumar continue to be the immortal flame, filling my world with their glow. Her voice was breezy and fresh, filled with love and pensiveness.  It is said that her singing style was highly influenced by her tumultuous relati...

Rahul Dev Burman popularly known as Pancham da needs no introduction. He is known to both the older generations and the millenials thanks to the versatility of his music. June 27th is his birth anniversary and being an ardent follower of his music I wanted to share a drop from the ocean of his music with you. Music was in his genes - he was born to Sachin Dev Burman (also referred to as Dada Burman) who was a maestro himself and Meera Dev Burman who was a lyricist in Bengali films and assistant to Dada Burman. He dominated the music industry in 70's and 80's- music of most popular movies from these years like Sholay, Hum Kisise Kum Nahi, Love Story, Yaadon ki Baarat, was composed by him. Some of his most popular songs include Chura Liya hai, Do Lafzon ki hai, Mehbooba Mehbooba, Dum Maro Dum. The very popular and infamous remix Kaanta Laga was originally a sweet composition of Pancham da that was later remixed and unfortunately given a sleazy feel. Many of the remixes that w...

The legendary artist Salil Chowdhury once said - 'If God could sing, he would have a voice like Hemant Kumar'. Hemant Kumar needs no introduction. His is the voice of devotion and it touches those depths inside your heart that perhaps you were never even aware of. Lovingly referred to as Hemant Da, he was not just an exceptional singer but also a highly gifted composer. While he was studying Engineering at Jadavpur University, he was always lost in music and quit midway to pursue his passion. He got his first break in 1940 with a Bangla song and in 1942 for a Hindi song. Musical success though continued to elude him until 1947 when his composition in Bengali film 'Purba Rang' got the attention of S.Mukherjee, owner of the very popular Filmistan Studios in Bombay (Mumbai). This association gave music lovers the gift of 'Anand Math' in 1952, the album that also has the rousing 'Vande Mataram'.  The real fame came with the 1954 movie 'Nagin' and he ...

What can one write on a day like this and for a personality who is as towering as her. We all know that hers is a legacy that will live on forever. My niece called me to say that I should be celebrating her songs and she is right - Lata ji is a legend who is not to be mourned, she should be celebrated. Blessed child of Ma Saraswati, she even chose the day of 'Saraswati visarjan' for her soul's onward journey. A piece of my own heart, she has been my constant companion at all times, during all phases of life and will continue to be so. She personified every emotion that I know of - Love, happiness, care, pain, anguish, heartbreak, longing, patriotism, motivation, devotion... Can any of us pick up that one song and label it as their favourite - I highly doubt. I know I cannot. Lata ji - thank you for every moment - whether it was a train journey, whether it was a moment of heartbreak and anguish, whether it was a 4 year old listening to 'yeh zindagi usi ki hai' or a 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...

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....