Living Diagonally In My Parallel World!

 On one of my daily walks, I happened to listen to Jatin-Lalit’s composition from Yes Boss – Ek Din Aap Hum Ko Yoon Mil Jaayenge – penned by Javed Akhtar and sung by Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. Here’s the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHgVlMrkloQ The tune of the first line sounded similar to an old Jagjit-Chitra Singh ghazal - Tujhko Dariyadili Ki Kasam Saaqiya. If I am not mistaken, this ghazal was from the early eighties. Then I was in my teens and had dismissed it as yet another “philosophical song” by Jagjit. But the song (ghazal) stayed with me. Decades later when I “listened” to it once again, it was revelation for me. Also remember this is a Ghazal, not a Nazm. A Ghazal is made up of a number of independent couplets (Sher’s), while a Nazm is on a specific topic or mood. This ghazal written by Sabaa Afghani has several layers and facets – love for the beloved, for self and for the Almighty. For a heart that’s deep in love, this ghazal can sound like a request m...

  Tu Baat Karein Ya Na Mujh Se   This song from Yashraj's Salman-Anushka starrer “Sultan” stuck with me for a while. Sung by Papon, Lyrics of the song are by Irshad Kamil and music by Vishal-Shekhar.  The song is about love and devotion of the main character to his wife. The song makes reference to Bulleh Shah's poetry and spiritual teachings, as a way to express the deep emotions and longing of the characters in the film. So who is Bulleh Shah? His real name was Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri. He was popularly known as Baba Bulleh Shah and Bulleya. He was a 17th-century Punjabi revolutionary philosopher, reformist and Sufi poet, regarded as the "Poet of the People". He said he was willing to go to any extent to please his Lord- even willing to dress up as a woman and dance to show his love to his God. Sufism equates love for the beloved at the same level a person loves his God. Love is equal to divinity. Coming back to the film. Sultan played by Salman gets pul...

 Phir Se Aiyo Badra Bidesi Namkeen - 1982 RD Burman, Gulzar & Asha Bhosle – the trio has set songs in so many moods. This one is poignant. The song is about hope and despair of a mute girl. Shabana plays the role Mithu, the mute girl living in a small hamlet in the hills somewhere in North India with her sisters and mother. She is full of hope and longs for the truck driver Gerulal (Sanjeev Kumar) who visits them once in a while. That’s the only bright spot in her silent world. The song is set with Mithu walking barefoot aimlessly on the hills engulfed in a blanket of mist. The look on her face is of being content in her thoughts of Gerulal. The sounds used in the song are equally haunting and heavy on bass. Taar Shehnai, flute provides the sadness while Bass guitar adds to the fuller tones. RD must have been challenged to set music to a song that is picturized on a mute person. The song can be heard on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNVJZf1Momw   फिर से आ...