Alan and Sylvia went to Juilliard together; they hit it off
from the very first day in school. Over the years they created some beautiful music,
melodies, and eventually 2 beautiful babies.
Their love for each other was evident in their music, she an
uninhibited singer, and he a famous conductor.
On weekends, he would strum his old’ guitar and teach the
boys Single String Boogie, and the complexity of rhythm, while she'd
sit close by with love in her eyes for her family.
Ranjish hi sahi, dil hi dukhane ke liye aa, Aa phir se mujhe chhod ke jaane ke liye aa....
Mehdi Hassan, the famous ghazal singer passed away yesterday at the age of 84 and with him the curtain came down on the Dhrupad-style of ghazal gayaki. Though I don't claim to have heard him a lot, me being of an age where ghazal was a genre which was limited to sad, melancholic moments of hero, heroine of Bollywood. I know some of my colleagues and heard many celebrity claiming being obsessed by his songs. My knowledge of Ghazal has always remained limited to the likes of Jagjit Singh (another famous singer who passed away few months back) and Ghulam Ali, I can't help feeling sad about his demise and the void it created in Ghazal gayiki.
The heart rendering lyrics of the above lines are truly touching!
Tag: Songs, Singers, Maetros, Ghazal, India, Pakistan, Mehndi Hassan
I’m a huge fan of Nick Hornby's books.
I’ve read High Fidelity in my college days and was completely taken by
it. Hornby is known for humour, and this one was no different. This book was primarily
about music, and the happenings in the life of the protagonist. But the one
part that I remember distinctly is that, the hero had a habit of making a top
five list for every little things. For instance, he will make a list of top 5 favourite
movies, top 5 Favourite dialogues, top 5 sad songs.etc. So, after reading the
book I also started doing the same. But like most thing, this lame habit of
mine got lost with time. And, thankfully it did. Though I’ve never been quite
good at listing my favourites, coz after reaching the top 3, I start
floundering.
List or no list. I love music. Starting from Begum Akhtar to Pink Floyd,
I have heard them all. Though, I don’t claim to be an expert in the genre, but
I’ve a decent idea about few of the ones I like. So when I listened to “Mathura
Nagarpati” fromRaincoat
for the 1st time, it blew me away. The lyricist of this song is Rituporno Ghosh, a much acclaimed
director, actor, trans-drsser and what not. So, when I came to know 6 years
back, that he wrote the lyrics in brij bhasha, I was surprised. And I
am still very much besotted to this number. The song is written from the point
of view of one of Lord Krishna’s wife, she is sadly observing the changes in Lord Krishna, who is the King of Mathura, desperate to leave the place
to visit his childhood place, Gokul, to
meet his sweetheart Radha. The song
questions Krishna's reasoning for doing such an act. And the wife’s struggle,
sorrow in knowing that he’ll return to Radha without a backward glance.
Such melancholy, I say!
Here’s the English translation of the song I found on the net.
Subahsubah ka khyaalaaj Early in the morning the thought arose Wapasgokulchalmathuraraaj to go back to Gokul, in the king of Mathura's mind Mathuranagarpatikaahe tumgokuljaaon Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul Manoharveshchhod nandraaj Leaving this beautiful attire oh son of Nanda Sar se utaarkesundar taaj Removing the beautiful crown from your head Rajdandchhod bhumi par vaaj Giving up ruling this world Phirkaahebaansuri bajaao Why are you playing the flute again? Mathuranagarpatikaahe tumgokuljaao Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
Kaunsaanokhageetgaye pee kakool What unique song did the cuckoo sing Rajpaatjaise aajbhaidhool That made you leave the throne like so much dirt Kaunsaanokhageetgaaye pee kakool What unique song did the cuckoo sing Birhanlaagephir hridayaakool That the pangs of separation are stirred anew Rajkaaj man na lagaao The heart is no longer in kingly matters Mathuranagarpatikkahe tumGokuljaao Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
Poor naarisaarivyakul nayan Men and women watched with anxious eyes Kusumsajaalage kantakshayan The flowers strewn on the bed felt like thorns
Poor naarisaarivyakul nayan Men and women watched with anxious eyes Raatbharmadhav jaagatbechain As Maadhav stayed awake the whole restless night Kaaheaadhiraat saarathibulaayo Why did he call the charioteer in the middle of the night Mathuranagarpati?..
Dheeredheerepahunchat jamunake teer Slowly he reached the shores of the Jamuna Sunsaanpanghatmridul sameer Lonely banks, soft breeze Dheeredheerepahunchat jamunake teer Slowly he reached the shores of the Jamuna
Khan khanmadhavbirha madeer Madhav felt the bittersweet pangs
Use kaahebhoolna paao Why can?t you forget her Mathuranagarpati?.
Tumharipiriyaab purigharvaali Your love is now a complete housewife Doodhnavanghivoo din bharkhaali Getting new milk and busy the whole day Birahakeaansoon kabke,ho kabkeponch daali The tears of separation have long since been wiped away Phirkaahedard jagaao Then why awaken the pain again Mathuranagarpatikaahe tumGokuljaao Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
The other day Mommy (she is with us for another week) and me sat watching Dhobi Ghat ( movie ), and I just loved it. The whole point of me jotting down this blog today is not centered around the movie but few blink and miss songs played on it. When Aamir Khan was painting away his blues in the movie, in the background one can hear a subtle Tappa, Dadra, Thumari playing. (For those who have no clue about what I am talking, Tappa, Dadra, Thumari are dominant genre of Hindustani Classical). Though I am very much a novice in Hindustani classical, my knowledge is mostly restricted to Rock n Roll and Country Music, having heard this genre took me to a different planet altogether. While watching Dhobi Ghat I got intrigued by the songs in the back ground. My mum said the singer probably is Girija Devi. Though I am still not sure about it. Ever since that day I am incessantly listening about it. On Saturday morning, I woke up to my Mother's version of banshee screaming, she read out the news paper to me saying, Girija Devi is in Delhi for some Music Festival. Pronto, I grapped the phone, asked few people for the passes. It turned to be the famous Shankarlal Musical Festival, dedicated to the memory of Pandit Bhim Sen Joshi, and the performance included Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Rahul Sharma, Rajan Sajan Brothers as well as Girija Devi. It took me a second to convince my Dad about joining us ( Dad just had his eye operation, I thought he will be reluctant to go), and Mrinal as usual had no choice but give in to the demands of married life. So sharp at 5:30 we left for Kamani Auditorium and saw one of the greatest concert of my life. Girija Devi sat among her disciple who where 1/4th her age and the audience were simply awestruck by the melody she presented. After seeing her performing for 1:30 hours she has a fan in my for life. The songs included lots of Kajri, (Kajri- means black-rainy clouds explaining the pathos of separated lovers). I am still taking baby steps, so don't hold my words for it, as I am only two weeks old. But would love to get into this deep lost world of Gharanas, and a music which has become so relevant to me in such a short period. Nowadays I love waking up to the sound of Raagas, hope this is not just a passing phase. The evening was more special because I saw it in the company of the three most important persons of my life. My Parents and Mrinal.
Disclaimer: The songs played in Dhobi Ghat may or may-not be Girija Devi's. But it seemed like her, my Mommy felt the same. And I stuck to it, at least it introduced me to this whole genre of music.
P.S. The first picture is of Girija Devi, along with her many students and great grand sons. The second picture is Me along with my Mommy, the fourth picture is of Rahul Sharma and Ram Kumar Mishra, the former is a Famous Santoor player and son of Shiv Kumar Sharma, later, is one of the India's eminent Tabla player. The last picture is of Me & Mrinal.
I've always been inspired by Nick Hornby's books. Was highly inspired by High Fidelity in my college days. The book was about this guy, his pals, his exs, and his love for music. But the most hilarious part that I remember was, that, he'd a habit of making a top five list for every little things, for e.g, Top Five Favourite Movies, Top Five Favourite Dialogues etc. I've been trying to make a habit of doing something similar for sometimes, but never managed to do so, as I start floundering by the time I reach top 3, evidently this hobby was never my cup of tea. But as far as music is concerned, it is extremely important for me, very much like that chap from the book. I love to sing, though I am no great shakes there and I love varied music, starting from Begum Akhtar to Pink Floyd. And I pretend not to cry when I hear something really nice (a habit that runs in my blood, courtesy my Mum & Sister).
The whole point of blogging today from office at 4 pm, is that I've to write about this very nice song, that came out almost 6 years ago and I am still obsessing over it, it's "Mathura Nagarpati" from OST Raincoat, this acclaimed song is written by Rituporno Ghosh, a Bengali director, who dresses weirdly, and have been flaunting his acting talent lately, might I add, he did a fantastic job in writing this song. The song is written in Brij Bhasha, and it talks about Lord Krishna leaving Mathura, where he's the king and going back to his childhood place, Gokul, leaving his Kingdom, his crown, his wife, to meet his beloved Radha. The song questions Krishna's reasoning for doing such an act. This is written from the point of view of one of his wife, while witnessing the change in him, knowing that he cannot be stopped and will return eventually to Radha without a backward glance, while she will be left behind. This is such a heart wrenching depiction, isn't it?
I came across its English translation on net. It goes like this:
Subahsubah ka khyaalaaj Early in the morning the thought arose Wapasgokulchalmathuraraaj to go back to Gokul, in the king of Mathura's mind Mathuranagarpatikaahe tumgokuljaaon Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul Manoharveshchhod nandraaj Leaving this beautiful attire oh son of Nanda Sar se utaarkesundar taaj Removing the beautiful crown from your head Rajdandchhod bhumi par vaaj Giving up ruling this world Phirkaahebaansuri bajaao Why are you playing the flute again? Mathuranagarpatikaahe tumgokuljaao Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
Kaunsaanokhageetgaye pee kakool What unique song did the cuckoo sing Rajpaatjaise aajbhaidhool That made you leave the throne like so much dirt Kaunsaanokhageetgaaye pee kakool What unique song did the cuckoo sing Birhanlaagephir hridayaakool That the pangs of separation are stirred anew Rajkaaj man na lagaao The heart is no longer in kingly matters Mathuranagarpatikkahe tumGokuljaao Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
Poor naarisaarivyakul nayan Men and women watched with anxious eyes Kusumsajaalage kantakshayan The flowers strewn on the bed felt like thorns
Poor naarisaarivyakul nayan Men and women watched with anxious eyes Raatbharmadhav jaagatbechain As Maadhav stayed awake the whole restless night Kaaheaadhiraat saarathibulaayo Why did he call the charioteer in the middle of the night Mathuranagarpati?..
Dheeredheerepahunchat jamunake teer Slowly he reached the shores of the Jamuna Sunsaanpanghatmridul sameer Lonely banks, soft breeze Dheeredheerepahunchat jamunake teer Slowly he reached the shores of the Jamuna
Khan khanmadhavbirha madeer Madhav felt the bittersweet pangs
Use kaahebhoolna paao Why can?t you forget her Mathuranagarpati?.
Tumharipiriyaab purigharvaali Your love is now a complete housewife Doodhnavanghivoo din bharkhaali Getting new milk and busy the whole day Birahakeaansoon kabke,ho kabkeponch daali The tears of separation have long since been wiped away Phirkaahedard jagaao Then why awaken the pain again Mathuranagarpatikaahe tumGokuljaao Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
P.S. Hear it first thing in the morning. This song creates longing and a sad, poignant pain.
I liked Sanjay Leela Bhansali's music in Guzaarish. The delicately inter woven ballads and the free flowing lyrics that he produced is magical. Though none of the song figures in my "Top Five Favorite Songs" but they have touched a cord somewhere in me. As far as Bhansali's movie is concerned I am not really a big fan of his theatrical movie display, extravagant sets and black and blue screenplays. But I do admire him for being an artist who is blessed with an innate sense of beauty. My personal favorite movie of his would be BLACK. I can see that movie nth times for it's dialogues (particularly the scene where Rani is giving interview for college and also the last scene of the movie where she explains the meaning of Black). The intensities in his songs are so profound, maybe that's because of the sort of person he is. He is extremely gifted from direction, to music, to production, to lyrics, he has left his mark on every movie he made, one small example would be the lyrics of this song called Tera Zikr from the movie Guzaarish.
It goes like this.
"Ke tera zikr hai
Ya itr hai
Jab jab karta hoon
Mehekta hoon, Behekta hoon, Chehekta hoon"
It's an old form of Hindi poetry writing, if you look at the lyrics the first line relates with the third line. And the second line relates with the fourth line. The song is a poetry in itself. God knows how many of the masses has taken a notice of this. I have been basking in this song since yesterday. Art at its best.
I was wondering the other day that I don't like melancholic songs anymore. Rather I hate them nowadays. When I was in college, I use to listen to gloomy cowboy songs a lot, as we know, country songs are usually about unrequited love ( girl leaving boy or vice versa). The best Hindi songs are usually about separations, if you know what I mean. In my college days, I use to love these sad romantic numbers a lot. Songs evokes such vivid tumultuous emotions, it's almost like you are living through that phase. Remember that song 'Lambi Judaai' (from Hero), isn't it depressing?. Well, it always managed to depress me. The music and the flute play of that song is so haunting and painful that it always use to leave me in despair. The lyrics is so heart rendering, that I always use to feel the pain seep up in my veins and honestly, I don't like being affected like that. Name any sad romantic song, I bet, it will have a long fan following. One of my friend use to cry every time she listened to "Ektara" from Wake Up Sid. I remember, we were on our way to give 3rd SEM MBA exam, when the driver played "Ektara" yes just to cheer our before exam nerves. Poor chap, he was unaware that he just stir up the hornets nest because after few second Sumati ( my friend) was literally started sobbing in her hanky, which eventually turned into a full fledged brawling.Songs are very tricky, they make you laugh, cry, dance, glow with their universal appeal. Also music tells you about the time gone by, about the moments you have lives, people who came & left. When I hear an old song playing from the creak of a door, this sudden rush of recognition reminds me of a time I've lived and left and this inward tear makes it all for the time gone by.
P.S. I remember one quote from "High Fidelity" ( a highly recommended book) by Nick Hornby."What came first – the music or the misery? Did I listen to the music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to the music? Do all those records turn you into a melancholy person?" — Nick Hornby
TAG: Music, Hindi Music, Nick Hornby, Lambi Judaai, Hero, College, Wake up Sid
It's MJs bday this Saturday & there are many concerts happening across Delhi to pay tribute to the King of Pop. I for that matter is already cajoling hubby dearest for it, knowing he is not really a fan of Micheal (that's appalling I know) & crowded place for that matter but WTF I want to make it there this time. Seems like I need divine intervention!
