Category: My ”now’ song

My “now” song: Apni toh har aah ik toofan hai

Posted on by sudhagee

Do you ever have a song, an idea, a storyline, or an image stuck in your head? And it just refuses to go away? For some time at least? I have this with music—it could be a song, an instrumental piece, a jingle, etc. This becomes my ‘now’ song, and the “nowness”  (pardon my English here) could be for any length of time.

My now song is “Apni toh har aah ik toofan hai” sung by Mohammad Rafi to music set by S.D. Burman for the 1960 film Kala Bazaar featuring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman.

About two nights back, Amma and I were watching a “retro Hindi film music” show on a music channel on TV. The songs being played were from the B&W films of the 1950s and 1960s, with many of the songs featuring Dev Anand. The song selection was so good that we kept postponing going to bed, and it was midnight when we finally switched off the TV.

But then, as it usually happens after a good music session, we stayed up for quite some time talking about old Hindi film music, in general, and songs featuring Dev Anand, in particular. We hummed and sang our favourite Dev Anand songs for a bit (Amma’s is “Tere mere sapne” from Guide and mine is “Apni toh har aah ik toofan hai” from Kala Bazaar). By the time we went to bed, it was nearly 1.30 am, and when we woke up at 7.00 am, it was to the news of Dev Anand’s demise. I can’t tell how strange we felt about our musical night; it was almost as if we knew what was going to happen.

And now, I have all Dev Anand’s songs playing like a non-stop record in my mind, with this particular song playing more than the others. It’s mellow, romantic melody is simply unmatchable and to me it is like Dev Anand himself—timeless and eternal.

R.I.P. Dev Anand.

My ‘now’ song: Ve chori chori tere naal

Posted on by sudhagee

Do you ever have a song, an idea, a storyline, or an image stuck in your head? And it just refuses to go away? For some time at least? I have this with music—it could be a song, an instrumental piece, a jingle, etc. This becomes my ‘now’ song, and the “nowness” (pardon my English here) could be for any length of time.

My ‘now’ song is Ve chori chori tere naal, a Punjabi folk song by Meesha Shafi, a Pakistani singer.

Continue reading “My ‘now’ song: Ve chori chori tere naal” →

My ‘now’ song: The silent anthem

Posted on by sudhagee

Do you ever have a song, an idea, a storyline, or an image stuck in your head? And it just refuses to go away? For some time at least. I have this with music—it could be a song, an instrumental piece, a jingle, etc. This becomes my ‘now’ song, and the “nowness” (pardon my English here) could be for any length of time.

My now song is the silent version of the Jana Gana Mana, produced by .

I’m sure you’ll agree that no further explanations are needed here.

Happy Independence Day 🙂

My ‘now’ song: Jithe sagara

Posted on by sudhagee

 Do you ever have a song, an idea, a storyline, or an image stuck in your head? And it just refuses to go away? For some time at least. I have this with music—it could be a song, an instrumental piece, a jingle, etc. This becomes my ‘now’ song, and the ‘nowness’   (pardon my English here) could be for any length of time.

My now song is “Jithe sagara”, a Marathi film song based on Raga Yaman.

I am in the mood for Raga Yaman—though not something from either Hindustani or Karnatic repertoire. I want it to be mellow and frothy and simple and nuanced at the same time. In other words, I want to listen to a film song.

My “now” song, which is a Marathi film song, illustrates this evergreen raga and my requirements beautifully. Jithe sagara dharani milte, which can be loosely translated as ‘the place where the sea and the earth meet’ or in other words the horizon, was composed by Vasant Prabhu and sung by Suman Kalyanpur.

In my opinion, this is one of the best examples of Yaman from Indian film music. Enjoy 🙂 

My ‘now’ song: Raske bhare tore nain

Posted on by sudhagee

Do you ever have a song, an idea, a storyline, or an image stuck in your head? And it just refuses to go away? For some time at least. I have this with music—it could be a song, an instrumental piece, a jingle, etc. This becomes my ‘now’ song, and the ‘nowness’ (pardon my English here) could be for any length of time.

My now song is “Raske Bhare Tore Nain”, a thumri in Raga Bhairavi.

I first heard Heera Devi Mishra’s version of the song from the film Gaman, as an 8- or 9-year-old, when my brother got home an audio recording of Gaman’s songs. I didn’t think much of this song then, as the other songs (Seene main Jalan by Suresh Wadkar and Ajeeb sa Neha by Hariharan) were more appealing. As I grew older, it was “Raske bhare tore nain’s” sensuous music and lyrics and Heera Devi’s earthy voice that captured my imagination like no other. So much so, that I learnt this song from the audio tape and it remains in my repertoire of songs that I dare to sing in public ! Needless to say, it remains one of my all time favourite songs.

For a long time, I thought that only Heera Devi Mishra had sung this song, till quite recently I discovered versions of this song sung by Girija Devi and Bhimsen Joshi. In my opinion, both Girija Devi’s and Bhimsen Joshi’s renditions of this thumri is not as nice as Heera Devi’s.

Yesterday, I stumbled across Barkat Ali Khan’s sublime rendition of this song and I knew then that “Raske bhare tore nain” was my new “now” song. Though Khan’s mellifluous voice and Heera Devi’s earthy tones are in sharp contrast to one another, both their renditions delight in different ways — the former playful and soothing, and the latter sensuous and raw. Barkat Ali’s Khan’s version is given below.

You could take your pick as to which version you liked, or you could enjoy both of them like I did. Do let me know which one you liked. 🙂

My ‘now’ song: Phir wohi raaste

Posted on by sudhagee

Do you ever have a song, an idea, a storyline, or an image stuck in your head? And it just refuses to go away? For some time at least. I have this with music—it could be a song, an instrumental piece, a jingle, etc. This becomes my ‘now’ song, and the ‘nowness’  (pardon my English here) could be for any length of time.

 My ‘now’ song is Phir wohi raaste sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali from the film Ramchand Pakistani.

I first heard this song on a cold, cold day in December 2008 in London. I was surfing YouTube when I came across the title of the film. That immediately caught my attention and on exploring further, I came across this song. When I heard the flawless rendition by the incomparable Shafqat Amanat Ali, I was hooked. Every part of the song appealed to me—the lyrics by Anwar Maqsood, the music by Surya Mitra, and of course the way it was sung. Since then, Shafqat Amanat Ali has become one of my favourite singers.

At that time, the appeal in this song lay in its ability to connect with my homesickness. Today, I am back home and I am not homesick. Yet, the appeal of this song endures in a way that I cannot explain or describe here. All I can say is that if you have heard this song before, why don’t you listen to it once again here? If you haven’t, then experience this song right here.

Enjoy 🙂