Wednesday, February 9, 2011

My best Companion!

Someone has said - 'A person who cannot enjoy Music & poetry is beastlike'. Music is the purest form of inspiration. It takes you closer to your dreams. It’s the magic that the musician creates & its land that the listener goes into. It’s one hell of a transition!
I am just another Music freak here, who gets inspired daily by some, or the other tune, melody or rather composition. 'I believe music has its own language'. A listener just has to identify which one is their’s.
While listening to some compositions sometimes, I wonder, how it exactly depicts the story going in your mind. Sometimes you can relate to the song, you can relate to every single melody it creates.
My taste for music has never been constant, there was an age when i was wooed by every average Ghazal too. There were times when i thought that ‘pehla nasha’, ‘Aao na’ ‘zara zara’ were the only great songs on earth. Teenage, I suppose!
As I grew up, I had a chance to visit Jodhpur - Jaisalmer in 2004, where I was introduced to 'Kesariya balam...padharo mhare des mein'...a song that the Rajasthan locals sing. Its been sung by hundreds of artists for eg. suresh wadkar, but the original one coming from the soil of Rajasthan, sounds immensely the best! The song sounds the purest, while You sit by tall walls of Jailselmer fort, gazing at the carved windows, feeling the textured pathways, it’s as if the Busker is trying to tell his own story. Its played on an instrument called the 'Ravanhatta'.
Its been some years since i have become an absolute fan of Indian ocean, the band....Their music their life...their struggle...is what you can truly relate to it. ‘Melancholy ecstasy’, ‘desert rain’, ‘Bondhu’(Bengali), ‘Kandisa’(in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ), bandheh’, ‘Chand’, ‘Shunya’, Leaving home’, ‘Kaun’(kashmiri), ‘Jhini’, ‘Bula raha hai’ have been my favorites. It can be described as an indo-rock band that incorporates Sholkas, Sufism, Mythology, folk in their compositions. Though being a Maharashtrian, I still feel connected to these songs.
Susmit sen’s new & innovative ways of playing guitar, feels as if he is finding a new vocabulary for his piece of music. Amit Kilam’s drumming is what the band gets the rhythm & energy from. They are extremely vibrant pieces & you just cannot stop yourself to sing along with him. Truly the best one! Rahul, the wildest of them all, in his own way hits some of the best notes from his guitar. His powerful vocal takes you to the roots of the country. Finally late Asheem, called as “the man with the golden voice” , has given some of the best ‘alaps’ in the song bandheh, kandisa.
Songs like the November rain by guns & roses, It must have been love by Roxette, U2’s With or without you, Walk on, James blunt’s Your are beautiful, MJ’s You are not alone, Heal the world, Eagles Hotel California. Bryan Adams summer of 69, When You Say Nothing At All - Ronan Keaton, John Denver - Perhaps Love, Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight, Wham - carless whispers, John Denver - I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane, Phil Collins - Another Day In Paradise, Last Christmas, TheBeatles –Letit be, Imagine, Celine Dion - just walk away, Coldplay - parachutes – trouble, Cold play - fix you, can't help falling in love - Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb, ComingBackToLife, Edward Maya Ft.Alicia Stereo Love - are few great ones to listen to. Great compositions! Great Lyrics! Truly Great Music!
Classical music is something I am experimenting now-a-days; by far Kishori Amonkar’s voice I have found the best. The one I liked amongst her songs were ‘Megha Jhar Jhar Barsat Re’, Raga Malhar & Ek hi sang hote. Apart from her, farida khanum- aaj jane ki zid na karo, Mehdi hasan’s Ranjish Hi Sahi, Amrita Pritams voice & her poetry - mai tainu fer milaNgi, JagjitSingh Ghazals like YehNayanDareDare, pyar ka pehla khat, Koi-Yeh-Kaise-Bataye, GhamKaKhazanaTera, HumToHeinPerdesMein, HotonSeChhuLoTum, Hosh Walon Ko Khabar Kya, koi fariyaad, KahinDoorJabDin, MAA SUNA MUJHE VO KAHANI, MainNasheMeinHoon are my personnel favorites. Marathi Music industry has created some of the best composers like Ajay Atul ,Sandeep & salil kulkarni, they are young , talented & are getting just the right kind of response from the masses.
Music is the rope that binds the true oneself & the one that he wants to be. My experiments to listen to the new & various zones of music will never fade away. Music has always been, will always be my ‘Best companion’!