Sync with the tunes of Golden Era..............

Music for me is... 

M-MEDITATION in
U-UNITY with
S-SOUL providing
I-INSPIRATION to my
C-CREATIVITY

‘Take a music bath once or twice a week, you will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body’, nothing can be said so beautifully than this about music. Music is something with which I can spend many hours at a stretch; it helps me to think, be calm & make me creative. With the interest that I developed in music and the hours I spent with it has let me developed a knack for recognizing Bollywood songs set in a certain raaga. This makes it very interesting and helps me to learn the raagas in a creative way. 

When I was a child, I used to listen to the songs to the oldies which my father used to play on Gramophone. Thus, I grew up listening to the old songs of the golden era of 50s, 60s, etc. Being born in late 80s, it was a strong but tasty dose of music given to me by my father. Gradually, I developed interest in the music of the golden era and I am very thankful to my father for giving me this treasure of such antique musical pieces. The songs of this era were the perfect mix of lyrics, music and artists. These golden pieces were composed on the basis of different Raagas. These songs are the perfect examples of Melody. Melodies like ‘Deewana hua badal’,  'Rimzim gire saawan’ gives you a rhythmic touch and feeling that makes you want to emerge yourself in it. It is really a treasury for a music lover like me.

In my childhood, I was introduced to the songs of many musical legends- singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Talat Mahmood, Hemant Kumar, music directors like OP Nayyar, Shanker Jaikishan, Khayyam and my favourite R.D. Burman.

R.D. Burman was a retro composer. He was an innovative and creative person when it came to composing songs. He used many lesser known musical instruments and different orchestration technique in songs like, ‘O haseena julfon wali’ ’& Duniya me logon ko’. He gave melodies like ‘Aapki aankon me kuch mehke hue se raaz hai’, ‘Mera kuch saamaan’ which fall under the evergreen category. You can't find people who do not like these songs.

'Aapki aankon me kuch mehke hue se raaz hai' from the movie 'Ghar' sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.

My favourite female singers are Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. The name Lata Mangeshkar itself inspires music in people. Not a single person can imagine this music industry without the legendary Lata Mangeshkar. The main thing which makes me a fan of her is the scale at which she sings and the simplicity with which she sings complex songs like ' Prabhu tero naam jo dhaaye phal paaye'. 

Asha Bhosle is a versatile female singer in bollywood who can sing any song with ease, whether it be classical or soft music. Where her voice takes on ethereal quality while singing 'Dil  cheez kya hai ' from the movie 'Umaro Jaan' her voice also makes you dance to the tunes of 'Piya tu ab to aaja ' from the movie 'Caravan '. She has made a mark in every genre. Both of them had a different texture of voice which makes you forget everything.

As far as male singer is concerned, I like Kishore Kumar. One word to define him is versatility. He was not only a versatile singer but also a versatile person. He was a playback singer, actor, lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenplay writer and scriptwriter. His most remarkable talent is; he was not a trained classical singer but had given wonderful melodies in his magical voice. This is the perfect example of natural talent. 

My favourite songs of Kishore Kumar-- ‘Panchi hoon main us path ka’ from the movie 'Door ka Rahi '- This song was sung and composed by Kishore Kumar.

 ‘Kuch to log kahenge’ from 'Amar Prem '- The song has  amazing voice of Kishore Kumar and a music piece given by Pancham Da (R.D Burman). This song makes us to think on the 2 faced world. But apart from this what a melody...

Music is my life; it is a medicine which cures my mind & soul. There are very few people who can blend work & pleasure. I would like to be one of those few who can turn their pleasure into work and work into pleasure. With this in mind I would like to start my own Indian Classical music classes where I can impart the little knowledge that I have, to such young people who love and worship music as I do. 

Melt in the soothing rhythm………….

What is passion? The answer is simple. When a person can never be alone without the thing which he/she likes to do or his/her creativity and innovative ideas start and come to an end on a particular thing, thus can be called as a passion. Likewise, music is oxygen to me. It is difficult to imagine my life without music. But you know what attracts me more about music……the sound, rhythm, & tune. When I started learning classical music I got to learn the real base of music in the form of Raagas. The Raaga is the most important concept that everyone who learns Indian Classical music should understand. A raaga scale can be defined as a musical theme created by choosing a specific set of notes ‘swaras’ from within an octave. It is similar to a palette comprising blue, green, violet, gray, white, black and yellow colors, for instance, which would produce a very cool picture. The right mixture of these colors can produce beautiful different paintings, similarly the different notes (swaras) blended in different ways can produce different Raagas.

Now let me introduce all of you to one my favourite raagas.

Malhar Raag: Rainy season being my favourite season, Malhar raag is just the right blend of swaras which can depict rain. Malhar raag is an old raga in Indian classical music. This raag is associated with the atmosphere torrential rains. According to the legend, Malhar Raag is so powerful that when sung, rain starts falling from the sky. Many great artists of the medieval, and much earlier period like Tansen, Baiju Bawara, Meera used to sing this raga to invoke the rain God There are many variations of Raag Malhar, and are categorized chronically based on the era of their composition- Prachin  (before15^th century), Madhyakalina (15^th-18^th century) and Arvachina (19^th century and thence). Raagas Shuddha Malhar, Megh Malhar and Gaud Malhar belong to the first period.

Miyan Malhar raag is the most favourite variation of Malhar raag. It has a beautiful blend of the swaras Sa Re ga PA Ma Pa ni Dha Ni Sa where ga and ni are komal swars. The swaras in Malhar Raag are so beautifully formalized that it brings forth a picture of nature in full bloom after a refreshing rain shower. It creates a pleasant atmosphere and a feeling which takes you to a place where the breeze is cool, where you can smell the fragrance of rain soaked earth. This is the effect in which you get enchanted in the magic of the Raag. It gives an awesome experience when you listen to or sing Malhar Raag.

There are various songs in Malhar Raag used in Bollywood like 'Bol re papihara' from the movie 'Guddi' which is a beautiful song, also 'Garjat barsat saawan aayo re ' from the movie 'Barsaat Ki Raat'. I hope you  listen to the Malhar Raag and experience the magic  for yourself.
Garjat barsat saawan aayo re

Bol re papihara

These are the songs composed in Malhar raag. Enjoy…. J

Play the Strings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Music can be anything, be it the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, water rippling, etc. The sounds which make us feel calm is the music, for me. Talking about music makes me want to share the information about musical instruments which are used to make soothing sounds depending upon different moods. There are different instruments used in music and they differ in nature. Different types of instruments-

Wind Instruments: Have you heard the winds howling on a cold night. It is believed  that these sounds made by the wind were an inspiration for the first wind instrument. Most of you must be aware of instruments like Flute or the clarinet. These are the classic examples of Wind instruments. Wind instruments require a person to blow into the instrument in order to produce the desired sound. They work on the principle of sound waves. The shorter the air column, the higher is the pitch of the note produced, and vice versa.  E.g.: Harmonium, Mouth organ, Clarinet, etc.

Percussion Instruments: Do you remember hitting a stick against a flat surface as a child? Congratulation!!! This was your first awareness of a Percussion instrument. Percussion instruments require a person to strike or beat the instrument surface in order to generate vibrations, which then produce the desired sound note. Depending on the type of surface, one can use one's hands, sticks, or other similar objects for striking the instrument surface. E.g.: Drum, Dhol, Tabla, etc.

Brass Instruments: Brass instruments are very poor souls. They rarely, if they do, get to stand alone as themselves. More often they exist in a state of unhappy marriage with any of the other instruments. This is why you will be hard put to find a solo in Trumpet or Trombone in Hollywood or Bollywood songs. In case of brass instruments, the length of the air column can be changed using press valves or through a slide mechanism. E.g.: Trumpet, Trombone, etc.

Stings Instruments: Strings instruments are the exact opposite of the brass instruments. These are the most widely used instruments across the world. Every teenager wants to own a Guitar and you will not find a person who will not know about a Violin or a Piano. Strings are musical instruments that produce sounds by vibrating the strings. Not just in western classical music but also Indian Classical music has a wide variety of string instruments like the Sitar, Sarod, Santoor and more specifically the Tanpura.

Let me tell you about the Classical instrument Tanpura. Classical music is just incomplete without the Tanpura. There are 2 types of tanpura with 4 & 5 strings respectively; the standard one being the 4 strings tanpura which is set in 4 swars-Pa SA SA Sa. The 2 SAs in the middle are the higher SAs. Whereas with the 5 strings, tanpura is tuned in 5 swars-Pa Ni SA SA Sa. The 2 SAs in the middle are the higher SAs.

I like to keep listening to the somber tones of Tanpura. It feels very calm and helps me with Riyaz and also is the best source of meditation.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa........

"सारे सूरों का है ये ही मिलन, गीतों से मेहका है सारा चमन, अपने होटों के नगमे सजाएं हुए, आओ सब मिल गाएं सा रे ग म प".............

आरंभ (start) of a musical blog could not have been more musical than this. For a long time I have wished to write about music, something which I felt and still feel when I am surrounded by music but have not been able to translate into words. But it is rightly said that music does not have words or language. It's just what you feel. 

Their lies a tie between me and music ever since my childhood but it took me a while to realize it. I used to listen to the 'Old Hindi' songs that my father used to play on the gramophone. This is how I cultivated a passion in music. I have been learning Indian Classical Music for the past 6 years and have learnt about the origins of the 7 swaras. Now let me tell you something exciting about the swaras. 

Each swara is associated with one of the seven chakras of the body and depicts different animals.

1.     Sa Shadj - (षड्ज) six-born peacock-   (base of spine) Ganapati 

2.     Re Rishabha- (ऋषभ) bull skylark-  (genitals) Agni

3.     Ga Gandhara -(गान्धार) sky goat - (solar plexus and navel) Rudra (Shiva)

4.     Ma Madhyama -(मध्यम) middle dove/heron - (heart) Vishnu

5.     Pa Panchama -(पञ्चम) fifth cuckoo/nightingale - (throat) Naarada

6.     Dha Dhaivata- (धैवत) earth horse - (third eye) Sadasiva (Shiva) 

7.     Ni Nishadam -(निषाद) hunter elephant sahasrara (crown of the head) Surya (Sun)

There are 12 swars-

7 shudh-Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni

4 Komal swars- Re Ga Dha Ni- These notes are between 2 shudh swar for eg: komal Re comes between Sa and shudh Re i.e one note preceeding and one notes the swar itself

1 Tivra swar- Ma- This note comes between Shudh Ma and Pa 

OK, these were some of the facts about the origins of the base of music and I will be updating with more  musical knowledge.