Category: music

dil to bacha hai ji

From the same people who brought you the album of Maachis some 14 years ago, Gulzar and Vishal Bhardwaj:

This is a fun and fantastic song. It’s about an older person falling in love. Interesting thing is that Gulzar (dude who wrote the song) himself is 73 years old now. When I grow up, I want to be like Gulzar.

There’s a line in the song that really got a hold of me. But it turns out that it doesn’t mean what I had wanted it to mean. At 1:55 into the song:

kisko pataa tha pehlu mein rakha, dil aisa paaji bhi hoga
hum to hamesha samajhte the koi hum jaisa haaji hi hoga

The lines are in reference to his heart. How he had thought his heart was always guarded and gentle and it turns out that it’s actually pretty ‘naughty’ (that’s how most translations on the net have translated ‘paaji’).

hum to hamesha samajhte the koi hum jaisa haaji hi hoga, the context here is the heart, where ‘haaji’ means gentle/gentleman-like. But the way it is said, ‘haaji’ can also refer to ‘one who performs hajj/pilgrimage’. A pilgrim. A person who journeys and wanders. That’s what I wanted it to mean.

hum to hamesha samajhte the koi hum jaisa haaji hi hoga, I wanted this not only to be in reference to his own heart, but also to refer to the person he was falling for. I wanted this translated as: I had always thought that she would be, like me, a pilgrim.

Still a good song, nonetheless.

dil se

I’ve been meaning to do this type of post forever (since I brought the blog back). But for one reason or the other (or no reason at all), I kept not doing it. And it’s appropriate that I start with Dil Se. Back in the day when Dil Se songs came out, I was in the process of collecting songs and listening to them (like any normal song listener person). But once I heard the Dil Se songs I stopped collecting more songs. I didn’t collect any new songs for the longest time. I remember friends asking me in high school, “Hey Adnan, what are you listening to now?”. “Dil Se”, I’d say. This was normal, because at that time those songs were new. Then months later, I was asked the same question, I gave the same answer. About even a year later, when they’d ask, I’d still say, “Dil Se”.

Generally in an album it’d be easy for me to list the songs I like most in order. This is difficult here.

E Ajbani – audio – video

I think the slow rhythmic approach to this song captures me the most. The constant drum beats in the background.

tu to nahin hai, lekin teri muskurahat hai
chehra kahin nahin hai, par teri aahatein hai
tu hai kahaan kahaan hai?
tera nishaan kahaan hai?
mera jahaan kahaan hai?
main adhoora… tu adhoori… ji rahi hai

Satrangi Re – audio – video

I think this song is very unique in that it embodies the whole essence of the movie in it. I think the video of the song is out of this world, it’s fascinating. It’s shot around sand, snow, fire, water, with strong elements of wind. Shahrukh is constantly wearing black (except the ending) while Manisha is wearing cloths of all sorts of colours. Then at the end of the song they’re both wearing white. And in the background you hear, “mujhe maut ki gaud mein sone de, teri ruh mein jism duboone de”. This essentially is the whole movie.

koi nur hai tu kyun dur hai tu
jab paas hai tu ehsaas hai tu
koi khwaab hai ya parchaai hai
satrangi re satrangi re

Chaiyya Chaiyya – audio – video

This song is shot on top of a train. Need I say more?
Fabulous lyrics! The beats mimicking the motions of a train, just brilliant!

yaar misaale os chale
paaon ke tale phirdoos chale
kabhi daal daal, kabhi paat paat
main hawaa pe dhoondho uske nishaan

–

main uske roop ka sehdai
woh dhup chaau sa harjai
woh shokh hai rang badalta hai
main rang roop ka saudai
</em>

Dil Se Re – audio – video

dil to aakhir dil hai na
meethi si mushkil hai na

–

dil hai to phir dard hoga
dard hai to dil bhi hoga
mausam guzarte rehte hai
dil se dil se dil se re
</em>

Thayya Thayya – audio

I love the way he says:

aaja sajna, aaja sajna
nai te mein mar gaiya

dosti ke gaane

so a whiles back Z sent me a link, it was a post by someone who listed their top 5 friendship songs. In that list there was a song from Main Hoon Na and from Mujhse Dosti Karoge. sigh…

so i figured i would make my own list. not so much of a list really, there are only two songs. i don’t need to make a list of 5 or 10 and add filler songs.

i list the songs here in no particular order:

yaari hai imaan, mera yaar meri zindagi [YouTube Link]

i love way too many things about that song video. first of all, i like how Pran hands over the instrument so he can get up and dance @ 0:30. the turning dance and drum beats @ 1:40. when Pran pulls in Amitabh to dance, Amitabh doesn’t comply at all, Pran gives him a hug, then gently “puts” him down, haha @ 2:45.

the lyrics @ 3:30, “jaan bhi jaaye agar yaari mein yaaro gham nahi, apne hote yaar ho ghamgeen matlab hum nahi”.

and pretty much the rest of the song from 4:20 onwards. all the words about laughter. “teri haseen ki kheemat kya hai bata de tu”

point to note, that in the movie, this is pretty much the only time Amitabh is seen laughing/smiling.

diye jalte hai [YouTube link]

this is a beautiful song.

that there is my list.

thoughts on magic and music

I can play a rusty ‘happy birthday’ on the guitar now. It’s fairly simple, nothing too complicated. Holding the guitar and playing a few notes, I can already begin to feel a similarity to when I started with magic. Get a deck of cards, tune it, then practise. This is the same with a guitar.

It takes time, you develop muscle memory and you just go. You forget all the details about finger positioning and think about other things, but when you start, it’s the details of the technique that you concentrate on. There’s always this urge to learn more and more, when really you only need to get down (perfect?) a few basic moves. Again, this applied to both magic and music.

Persistence, it takes persistence. Lots of it. There’s no other way around it, there is no instant gratification. Anyone can pluck a string and spread a deck, but not everyone can do it in a smooth and beautiful fashion, that takes time.

It’s interesting how there are similarities in practising, but differences in the performances and the reactions. I feel that music has the ability to go/last beyond the author/creator, more so than magic. Also the creators of magic are often looking for a shock value, and the shock value lasts that one time. On the other hand, with music and songs, you can hear them over and over to get that effect. With most magic it’s a one time thing, but it need not be. Often you’ll hear magicians talking about how their trick will fool people. If you want to fool people, you probably will, but so what? Instead magic effects (not tricks), like music, should be about sharing something beautiful. So instead of creating magic with the idea of fooling someone, magic ought to be created on the basis of beauty and rhythm. Which is why I love reading essays about magic by Ascanio and Juan Tamariz.

Most magicians don’t create their own effects, instead they learn what other magicians have done. This is fine, I have no issues with this. Often you will end up putting something of yourself into the effect, making it yours in ways. I suppose this is what good singers do with songs as well. I haven’t devised many magic routines of my own, just a few. There’s only one that I do on a regular basis. That routine came about when I was doing flourishes on the RT and a few people asked me to do some magic for them. I had no idea what I was going to do, even as I asked them to pick a card. I just went with the flow, piecing bits of magic together to arrive at an actual routine. I like how that worked out. Like musicians, magicians also have jam sessions.

Anyway, it seems like I’ll be spending quite a bit of time with the guitar. Also, watch this space for more happy birthday related material (bollywood style). =P

mann hota hai

Listen to the song before reading on any further:

Youtube video:
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I set “mann hota hai” as my status on the instant messaging clients. Apparently (from the responses I got to this) the words “hota hai” are forever attached to “kuch kuch” (roll eyes… sigh.). From those who actually heard the song, a common response was “he sounds like a woman broke his heart”.

My analysis of the songs will be based on the words and the connections within the song, disconnected from any particular kuchkuchness and romantic connections.

First of all, I like the tone of the song. The piano and the piano pauses, the music is not constantly playing. So in some moments all you get is the singing sound. I like how that works out. I like how the singing does not drown in the music.

Now for the lyrics… the words:

khawaboon se… khelne ko
mann hota hai… mann hota hai

I find it interesting that he uses the word “khelne”… “to play”. What does it mean to play with a dream?

haathon se… chunay ko
mann hota hai… mann hota hai

Interesting still. I connect these lines to the dream. So then what does it mean to touch a dream?

To play with and touch a dream… to make it real?

kisi ki naa pe roo dun to…
khilonay toot jaye to…
koi jab mugh se puchay…
kyun rota hai…?
mann hota hai… mann hota hai

There’s so much going on in these words. First, the rejection or disapproval, “kisi ki naa”. Then, the tears.
“khilonay” is also an interesting choice, a toy is something you play with and can touch. The broken toy is a shattered dream. I really like how that connects with the last two bits of the song.

Then the question and response. “kyun rota hai?” and “mann hota hai”. I don’t know if that makes grammatical sense. I know that “mann chahta hai” in the same way that “dil chahta hai”, but how does “mann hota hai”. I know what it means and the implications, yes. But the words are… different.

So back to the question and response. “kyon rota hai?”… “why do you cry?”. Because “mann hota hai”. Now, in the song “mann hota hai” might not be designed as a response to the question, but for me it is. Because “mann hota hai” is the reason there are tears. But here’s the rub, the response to the question itself should cause more tears because it is the reason in the first place. So it’s circular, the tears are circular (they often are).

kabhi sardi ki raatoon mein…
koi khirki jo kholun to…
liye muskaan chehre pe…
koi hota hai…
mann hota hai… mann hota hai…

The obvious conclusion to make here is that he misses the “muskaan” of some other person. But I find it interesting that a window is used here. Because a window also shows you your reflection. Could it be that he’s remembering a time when he used to smile himself? And wishes that moment was back?

But a window also represents communication, because opening a window is a gateway to the outside world (or whichever world you want it to be). Sure, you have to squeeze through it, but it’s still a path, it’s still a way.

But why would you open a window in cold weather? Wouldn’t it make more sense to leave the window closed to retain the heat? Or does he want the cold winds? The need to cool down, the longing for a smile. Interesting.

Needless to say, I find this song interesting.

tujhse naaraaz nahi zindagi

Facebook removed the “is” from their status. So I figured I would do my msn thing where I tag a line from a song along side my name. But since this is f8, they allow you to post things, and youtube has moving pictures for most of the songs I’d come up with. I figured, let’s post the song.

“tujhse naaraaz” came to mind, it’s funny though because I never really heard or understood the lyrics of that song, beyond the first two lines. So when I thought of it, I only thought of the starting of the song, something to put in as a status. But the song is so good, that anyone can connect to it. Because it’s so… real, and the emotion it draws is real.

I copy/pasted a translation on facebook, but I don’t think it was adequate. So here’s a re-attempt, in simplified dummy adnan words. I mean, who uses the word astonished in normal conversation? Although, feel totally free to correct/improve.

My English translation:

tujhse naaraaz hahin zindagi hairan hoon main
I am not upset with you, life… I am surprised

tere masoom sawaalon se pareshan hoon main
by your innocent questions… I am worried
(although, I would prefer this read: “your innocent questions worry me”)

jeene ke liye sochaa hi nahin dard sambhaalne honge
I never thought, that for me to live, I would have to bear such pains

muskuraye to muskurane ke karz utaarne honge
that for me to smile, I would have to pay a debt for smiling
(note: this is an important distinction here, not “take on a debt” but to “pay off a debt”)

muskuraye kabhi to lagta hai jaise hothon pe karz rakha hai
and when I do smile, it feels as if I have placed this debt upon my lips

beautiful still.

It’s awesome, because when I posted the song it got responses from folk who don’t understand the language, that is something I didn’t expect at all. Emotion does truly transcend language. Methinks I shall try and post a song each day. Which ends up sounding like a new year’s resolution.

It’s interesting, how things are connected. Given the time of the year, in conversations with anjum, it reminded me about my “new year’s resolution” from last year. Hah, I’m not sure if over the year I was able to accomplish those two goals. I think I’ve talked ever so slightly less, but not noticeably smiled a whole lot more. I try/tried though.

It is also interesting how it connects to the newunion (will yasmine blog about it already!). Because some of us have issues/difficulties with smiling. Definitely, in ways, a little dead inside. Just a little.

It’s also interesting how the song connects the thought of smiling to a debt that needs to be paid, and how that connects to money and happiness, and how that connects to the creditcanada.com ads on the TTC subway. Much the discussion during the newunion.

Although I will still contend that the currency of debt in the song is not cash money. I think the song attributes a certain burden/heavyness to smiling, and thus we smile less on an overall scale, or at least in front of a camera. As if for smiling there is a cost that will need to be paid, and so when you even think about smiling, you would have to consider those costs.

Smiling should, however, be free (as in speech and as in beer).

But really, what are the costs of smiling? what are its returns?

🙂