A Zephyr that Shaped into a Storm #acnotes
30 years since a dent was made on the soundscapes of Bollywood
Some time in the mid-nineties, while I walked down Brigade Road (I don't recall exactly) I heard the airy tone of a flute playing from one of the old audio cassette shops (that's not around anymore). I was in high school. And this was the time I was paying more attention to who is making the music more than which movie the music belonged to. So, this never before heard sound caught my attention, instantly. It did not sound anywhere close to the classical or traditional tone of flute I had ever heard before. It was as though someone was whistling through a flute. Some kind of controlled breathing, more so. Or, a zephyr passing through a bamboo thicket. And this gust was conjuring music. For a second it sounded like Ace of Base, then the Hindi lyrics with Asha Bhonsle-ji's voice shattered my preconceived notion. I stopped right there to listen while my parents walked ahead for a few meters. And then there was no pause to that moment. I listened keenly to those Enigma-esque beats blended with a non-bollywood sounding tune. The zephyr flowed through, unstoppable. It turned into a raging storm eventually. Calmed down for a while, soared, twirled, raked whatever was on its path and floated while many at the cassette shop paused to hear a spectacle. From someone who had listened to Hindi film music through my father’s collection of cassettes, this was nothing like what I had listened to before. Most at that shop unanimously agreed as they stopped briefly to listen. The ones near the counter glanced as though it was a daily occurrence. Unlike now, there were no mobiles for people to doom scroll and let such a moment slip past. I’m sure there might be a few who are reading this who might recall that experience of listening to this song for the first time. If so, feel free to share your experience in the comments.
There was no internet yet, so all I remembered were those two repeated words of Hindi in the first line of the song. The next day at school there was a buzz about some movie which had just released and a few seniors were planning to bunk and go watch it. A classmate overheard that and broke that news to us. Still I wasn't aware what this movie was but there was high praise about its music. More importantly, a new face who had created quite a sensation on the silver screen. So, one friend who had smuggled a walkman into school and played it during the lunch time. One part of the earphone in his left ear and the other in my right ear. The cassette abruptly started with a chant kind of music, quite hypnotic and like an Indian Classical or Hindustani raag (honestly, I didn't know what it was back then). So this friend stops the cassette midway, takes it out of the player, inserts a Reynold’s 045 pen in one of the reels/spools and rewinds it quickly. Inserts the tape back into the walkman and pushes play. It begins with a soft hiss and there it is again. Gusts of airy flute tones, played to the tempo of a pendulum oscillating or the intervals sound like a peacock's train-rattling in-between the calls for courtship. Then those same two words hint the start of the song -"Tanha, Tanha..."
That was it. The note that would flip bollywood music on its head had had been struck.
“RD Burman passed away in 1994 and a year later in 1995, another musical genius AR Rahman unleashed a fresh new brilliant sound on an unsuspecting audience through Rangeela. When I sang Rangeela Re and Tanha Tanha Yahan Pe Jeena for him, I was 62 years old! I thank ARR for bringing the best out of an elderly person.”
Asha Bhonsle
Rangeela, if you keep the video/movie aside, it's a totally different entity. Mind you, it was ARRs debut album in Hindi (setting aside Roja and Vishwavidhata, which were remakes from Tamil). And to an extent Ramgopal Verma (RGV) gets credit for curating that album though ARR composed it. The album won many accolades including 2 Filmfare Awards - Best Debut/Music Talent plus Best Music Director.
I never got a chance to watch the movie back then, however this song used to play often at a neighbour's house on repeat. I watched the movie much later - though I did see the song a few months later on Chitrahar and understood the reason behind the sensation on the silver screen. Nevertheless, till today that flute in the beginning takes me back to the doorway of that old cassette shop and the lunch breaks at 7 'D' Classroom. More specifically, how my friends used to imitate the sound of the flute by keeping the pen cap near the lips and whistle gently by blowing wind into it.
#acnotes
Very nicely written. Music memories gives you the feeling before the story. They don't remind just the song, they put you back in the room, the weather, the person you were with.... Thank you for writing this.