Almost every Himachali I have met is blessed with an honest, earthy voice that matches perfectly with their music. Seriously, I am yet to meet a Himachali who doesn't sing well. I am completely addicted to their music and am very happy to the see the youngsters take pride in their legacy and make efforts to present the Himachali music to the rest of the world in a form that will appeal to the younger generation and still retain the pahadi soul. Click here to read the first part of the this post about Himachali music. And here are more such beautiful songs.
When I was very young and used to live in Sarojini Nagar, our house was very close to the green area of Scindia Pottery and peacocks and peahens often used to visit our terrace. Even when I was very young, I learnt to recognize peahens by their calls, which is not much of a feat considering the very peculiar, harsh sound that these birds use to communicate with each other. Unlike a peacock's melodious call, a peahen's is like that of an out of tune bagpipe.
Anyway, these birds remind me of this very beautiful song titled "Morni". I am not sure why this song is so named because the song does mention a "Mor" but not a "Morni". The song is about a dialog between a mother and a daughter. The married daughter is visiting her parents and the mother is inquiring about her well being. The version here is by Mohit Chauhan.
Here are my favorite lines from the song:
कुथी जांदा चन्द्रमा
कुथी जांदा तारे हो
ओ अम्माजी कुथी जांदे दिलांदे पयारे हो |
हो छुप्पी जांदा चन्द्रमा
छुप्पी जांदा तारे हो
ओ धिये à¤à¤²ा नय्ये छुप्पे दिलांदे पयारे हो ||
Shiv ji is like a rockstar in Himachal Pradesh. He has so many songs dedicated to him and many of them are affectionate as well as reverential. This is the aspect of devotional music that I like the best. One of my favorite songs about Shivji is "Shiv Kailashon ke Wasi". It talks about Shiv ji as the protector and also talks about his quirky sides. The following version is by a band known as Laman, and is my favorite.
तेरे कैलाशों का अंत ना पाया,
तेरे कैलाशों का अंत ना पाया,
अंत बेअंत तेरी माया,
ओ à¤ोले बाबा
अंत बेअंत तेरी माया
शिव कैलाशों के वासी, धौलीधारों के राजा
शंकर संकट हरना, शंकर संकट हरना
तेरे जे गलाये चम्बे औना चंचलो -२
तेरी क्या वो निशानी हो हाय , मेरिये जिन्दे तेरी क्या वो निशानी हो ||
चम्बे दे चुगाने मेरा डेरा कुँजुआ -२
बुट्टा पीपल निशानी हो हाय , मेरिये जिन्दे बुट्टा पीपल निशानी हो ||
It is an absolute delight to listen to each of these songs. But this is not all. There are many songs that I want to talk about so there will be more posts in this series. In the meanwhile, plug in your headphones and enjoy the enchanting music.
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