My Two Bit ”Gyan” On ”Gaan” Part I

Bengalis have this genetic hook-up with ”Gaan”…..sorry ”Gaan” is actually Bangla for Song. A person who cannot hum a tune properly and  speak two words on the same is not human enough is what Bongs believe wholeheartedly. So being a quintessential specimen of the race I had to know and learn what ”Gaan” was all about from my infancy. It was a compulsion. There was no alternate choice for me, more so, being born in a family of self-proclaimed musicians, it would have been akin to sending my parents to the guillotine had I not been able to  figure out , during my very  formative years, what micro-tone, tune, pitch, scale, harmony, melody, rhythm, voice throw and all such other subtle nuances of the Discipline meant. So, whether I had a knack for singing or not, I had not only to sing but also look knowledgeable about a subject, oceanic and layered. Needless to say, the training had to be rigorous in order to make a peacock coo like a cuckoo. Having underwent that what best could have happened was not the modulation of a mellifluous voice but development of an ear for melody, which can be as technical as Rocket Science. Believe me!!

Having said all that, I implore you all not to nurture any misconception even for a nano second that whatever little have I come to pick-up with diligence in due course is by any measure encyclopaedic in dimension. It is certainly NOT. Why? Because I very firmly hold that music is Nature’s Gift and therefore comes naturally to those who are endowed with this blessing. One who has to sweat over it is not actually meant for it. I had to so let’s not waste time on that….

However,  DNAs being DNAs, music has always been an integral part of my life and played varied roles ranging from being enjoyable to motivational to exalting to cathartic to therapeutic…..in short catalytic. Now, as the prompt requires, it is very difficult to put a finger, metaphorically speaking, on one particular song  which has moved, inspired, uplifted or influenced me to no end. In fact, there have been and are many which at different points of time in life have been instrumental in maintaining sanity and keeping me afloat. I guess that is what maturing is all about.

But today I think the one song which I must speak about is this one that has kept me going in the most turbulent and trying times of my growing up and to be very honest I am still growing…………….up……………..

For those who are alien to the language, let me try and translate the lyrics, though not in absolute exact way, but in a manner that retains and conveys the essence:

How long shall darkness bewitch the heart

These wistful days shall someday be past

Life is a matrix of sorrow and joy

This barren season is a moment’s ploy

Fresh blooms shall blossom again in the path

These wistful days shall someday be past

Howsoever strong the wind be that blows

Let the flame of faith in the heart burns so

Together be joined those who  journeyed apart

These wistful days shall someday be past

Truth is that may what anyone say

The tides of love  that swirl and sway

Shall touch the shore someday sure and fast

These wistful days shall someday be past

Lyricist Yogesh

Though quite close to literal translation yet I have taken a few liberties here and there, albeit minimal, to preserve poetic cadence and beauty of the lore. However, it is quite evident that the song exudes undying hope and incurable optimism which are so very necessary at times when everything seems dismal around and no flicker of light shines, ,even in the distance, to illumine vision and mind.  At many a times like this, I have found strength and the will to move forward listening  to or remembering this song.

Singer Kishore kumar

Penned by my all time favourite lyricist Yogeshji and composed by one and only Rajesh Roshan Sahab (known for his offbeat scores), this song sans percussion instrument(s), glaciates seamlessly in the sonorous voice of the inimitable Kishore Kumar who has sung a scale lower than his usual  to underscore the sombreness of the notations. Nonetheless, the flow of the song glides the same way as life does through the peaks and troughs of time. Here, Kishoreda’s voice takes on a rich-in-conviction yet soothing tone. Even the high notes have been wilfully pitched a tad softly such as not to jar nerves distraught with frustration and failure. Almost like croons of a lullaby falling on the ears of a distressed child, the notes fall and rise in waves, drizzling the soul with solace and tranquillity. My restive battles within have often been put to a truce of peace and harmony, however short-lived that be, humming this song. And God knows there have been a number of occasions  when I have had reasons to sing this song to myself.

Interestingly, like all other, this number from the film ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’, has an unmistakable Western flavour  in consideration of the script’s social milieu. The film pivots around the unambitious love story of a boy and a girl belonging to the  Anglo-Indian community of  thriving middle-class Mumbai.

Composer Rajesh Roshan

I dedicate this song along with this post to all those who must have also been through what I have been. Fact remains that this matrix of angst and elation, hope and desperation, success and loss, achievement and failure are intrinsic parts of existence. My late father  had often advised us to be stoic in the face of adversities. “Life”, he would say, “Is 3/4th sorrow and merely 1/4th joy just as our planet Earth whose 3/4th part is  covered by water bodies, thereby rendered inhabitable and only 1/4th is covered by land which is habitable.” Odd analogy yet strangely comprehensible as to how little we have with which to create, hold on to and be contented with.

So, sing along………….

All images from Google

This post is in response to Word Press Daily Prompt : Song