Of Rain-soaked Songs...

Having grown up in Bombay, I've always loved walking in the rain...well, actually the unrelenting Bombay rains dun leave u w/ much of a choice than to walk in the rain...smtimes, it'd even conspire w/ the drainage system to turn the whole city into one large swirling mass of raging water...n then there'd be times when the transport system wld pitch in too...so if u had a home to go back to, u had to walk...even if it meant walking all the way frm Churchgate to Bandra! Yes, I've actually seen ppl doing that...there'd be this huge swarming soaking-wet mass of mankind inching slowly frm the "townside" to the "suburbs"...it's at such times that the spirit of the city really shone thru...there'd be ppl distributing tea snacks water...

I miss that place...

But I'll stroll down Nostalgia Streets of Bombay in another post :)

This is abt a beaaauuutiful evening frm a few days back...yes it was raining...n there was thunder n lightning too! But not at all frightening! Au contraire, it was just perfect...n since I cld see a lot of sky, it made it all the more dramatic...a bit like those cliched scenes in Hindi movies...the crack of lightning followed by a clap of thunder...but this evening was picture-perfect...

I cldnt catch the thunder all that well, coz I had these hauntingly beautiful voices crooning inside my head...now this might sound unromantic, but I had the headphones to my cell strapped onto my ears...I wish it was live or atleast frm a dashing pair of Cadence Arca speakers...but I wont nitpick :)

Thing is I was listening to sm really good songs...the mood was just right...n the weather almost tailor-made...
I love songs w/ poetry...feelings...w/ lyrics which not only try to convey deep emotions, but also do it thru gorgeous words. One of my favorite lyricists is Gulzar. Love his metaphors...n his songs r so unhurried...n so very earthy...his combination w/ Pancham n Asha is just amazing...the song that immediately springs to mind is Mera Kuch Saman frm Ijazat...one needs to listen to such songs on a rainy evening...preferably at arnd twilight...switch off all the lights...n listen to the songs as the evening light slowly fades into the night...

I was sitting there for hours n suddenly this thought crossed my mind...actually it's crossed my mind many times before n I know it -- fortunately -- will many more times. Thing is while listening to ghazals...or smthng similar, I invariably wish I were really a king! No, I'm not hungry for power, nor do I harbour any ambitions to rule the world...but only a king cld've had a courtful of these brilliant musicians. In a way m glad I'm not one, coz I'd've made a lousy king...the only things on my mind wld've been wine, song n women! ;-)

Anyway...

I was looking out my window, at the rain drop w/ this beautiful melody -- of course that was the music playing in my head(phones) -- but it kinda felt like it was falling in beat w/ the song. N the effect was just awesome...I cldnt help wishing I had a shamiana laid out on my terrace w/ these musicians performing just for me. I know it's too self-indulgent, but I just cldnt help wishing for it. Live music has a totally different feel to it. I've never been to any light-music concert...just rock concerts n classical music/dance ones...n they've just been electrifying. U can listen to them till the wee hours of the morning...n still keep wanting more!

So it's not very difficult to imagine what accomplished artists like Iqbal Bano, Farida Khanum, Mehdi Hasan, Jagjit Singh, Mallika Pukhraj, Abida Parveen...cld do...they wld no doubt have set the night on fire...

But unfortunately, the songs in my cell werent of these artists. They're there on my desktop...but what I did have wasnt bad at all. There was Lata crooning Sili Hawa Choo Gayi, Khamosh Sa Afsana...Asha singing Khaali Haath Shaam Ayi Hai, Mera Kuch Saaman, In Aankhon Ki Masti Mein...Suresh Wadkar, Seene Mein Jalan...Talat Aziz, Zindagi Jab Bhi ...Jagjit, Tumko Dekha Toh Yeh Khayal Aya, Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho...I dun want to list all of them, but they were all of a similar mood...

It was an amazing evening...n I felt glad to feel weird enough to actually switch off all the lights n sit out at the window w/ nothing but the misty spray frm the rain on my face n that hauntingly melodious music in my ears...staring into the night sky n seeing a shamiana...ghungroos dancing w/ the raindrops...the swirl of a glittering skirt...n the occassional lightning n thunder...it was as if even the heavens were applauding the performances...

Zindagi Jab Bhi Teri Bazm Mein Laati Hai Humein
Yeh Zameen Chaand Se Behtar Nazar Aati Hai Humein