A very good friend of mine, wanted to know the other day, what it is about a song that attracts me to it.
My first answer was lyrics. We had a short conversation and then it was over.
Later in the day, I was on the train and I began to think more about the question, about music in general, its beauty, my favourite songs, why they are my favourite. I realized that despite listing music as my third passion after cricket and cinema, I tend to take it for granted. I mean, I listen to songs, repeatedly listen to my favourite songs, think about them from time to time and then that's it..its over..I have never actually given much deep thought into why I fall in love with some songs, why some songs mean so much more than the rest, why some songs stay with me for over 10 years now.
I don’t think there is a definitive answer. The best answer I can come up with is “it varies”
So now I will try to think about a couple of various instances when I liked different songs for different reasons.
Firstly, my taste in music is very hard to categorise. I listen to songs in Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and English. I listen to Hindi film songs, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Metallica and Bruce Springsteen. I myself don’t know how to categorise this.
I guess my affinity towards hindi film songs stems from watching hindi films as a kid with my parents. My appreciation of bands like Metallica and Pink Floyd can easily be traced to the influence of my close friends. My appreciation for Pakistani rock bands developed from Indian pop channels like Zee Music, MTV, B4U etc. Lastly, my fondness for Bengali Rock/Metal songs is also due to the influence of my friends.
Ok I have totally digressed from the original point which was what attracts me to a song.
Lyrics
The words do not have necessarily have to be poetry of the highest class. But they have to have something in them that adds meaning to my life, to which I can add meaning to, in other words, connect with. One of my favourite Indian lyricists is the late Anand Bakshi. Now his poetry and range of words are probably inferior to that of Gulzar, Prasoon Joshi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Saahir Ludhianvi, but he is one of my most favourite lyricsts, simply because his simple words more often than not connected with me.
Take for example his song Yeh Dil Deewana from Pardes.
The song is beautifully sung by Sonu Nigam, it is one of the songs that shot him to stardom, and the music is great too…but what stays with me are the lyrics
Maine Usske Sheher Ko Choda
Usski Gali Main Dil Ko Toda
Phir Bhi Seene Mein Dhadakta Hain
Yeh Dil
Maine Dil Se Usse Nikala
Jo Na Karna Tha Kardala
Phir Bhi Yaad Ussiko Karta Hain
Yeh Dil
Dil Kaisa Bepeer Hain
Woh Ek Tasveer Hain
Main Kehta Hoon Tor De
Kehta Hain Zanjeer Hain
Koi Kachchee Dor Nahin Hain Main Kya Karoon
Dil Pe Koi Zor Nahin Main Kya Karoon
Sounds cliched? heard before? too simple? nothing great? maybe..but they stayed with me..and will do so…There are many songs of Anand Bakshi that have stayed with me.
At the same time, most of these songs have also had very talented singers and composers behind them, so nothing should diminish that. When I like these songs, I don’t totally ignore the singing and composition, but the lyrics help the song find its way into my heart.
At the same time, there are various songs I like whose lyrics, although great, do not really connect with, either because I don’t understand them or I just don’t have the sensibilities for the particular thoughts behind them.
Take this highly acclaimed A R Rahman song from the movie Dil Se written by the great Sampooran Singh Gulzar.
Like many Gulzar songs, some of his words are just too high for me, too unheart, too unfamiliar, and I don’t understand them, which leads to not understanding entire lines in a particular song. Does that in anyway diminish its value for me? No. There is something else in it that connects with me.
Another very popular song from the same film is Chaiya Chaiya.
Now I was first introduced to this song way back in 1998 by my father, who fell in love with this song. He would play it on the stereo all the time and the catchy tune and beats instantly struck a chord with me. A few years later, I could appreciate the high class of singing put in my Sukhwinder Singh in this song. I could tell that you had to be a fantastic singer to pull it off. Yet the highly spiritual lyrics of Gulzar were at a level way beyond me. I did not understand the meaning of
Woh Yaar Hain Jo Imaan Ki Tarah
Mera Nagma Wohi, Mera Kalmaa Wohi,
Mera Nagma Nagma
Mera Kalmaa Kalmaa
Years later, having gained a bit of a familiarity with the ideas of Sufism, Mysticism and Rumi, I can perhaps appreciate only a glimpse of the beauty of these words. There are still various words in the song I do not understand. In fact, I actually do not understand the general theme of the song, I am not totally sure of what it is talking about. I can understand only a few lines, and the ideas behind them but overall, I am not entirely sure. It would perhaps take me a few years and few books before I can even begin to appreciate the depth of this song’s beauty. Today, when labelling any song remotely dealing with love as a “Sufi song” has become a fashion, Chaiya Chaiya sets the benchmark for Sufi songs and differentiates the real from the rest.
So, having initially thought that lyrics play the most important part for me, I have now realized that it not always the case.
Here is another of my most favourite and cherished songs – Kehna Hi Kya from Bombay written by another favourite lyricist of mine – Mehboob.
Now I am absolutely awestruck by the beauty of this song, the sheer magnificence of Chitra’s rendition and Rahman’s composition. I have always known this as a beautiful song, even when I was perhaps not old enough to have any clue what the song meant. Today, when I listen to it, and having seen the film recently, I can understand the context and the meaning of the song. It does not enhance or diminish the song’s beauty in my eyes one bit, simply because it was already on a very high pedestal to begin with. Now what took this song to that level, I don’t know. These are one of those rare moments when I am inclined more towards the existence of something higher, divine, majestic, God. The fact that my 10-12 year old mind was able to find something of meaning in this despite not understanding what it was about lead me to think about life and this world in more positive terms than I usually do. It makes me think about the magic in the universe, how we are all connected in ways beyond our understanding, Ok I better stop now, I start with music and end up talking about God. Time to move on :P
Continued in Part II
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