Music gives one strength, music gives one focus, and music also fans all sorts of emotions. So one should use it wisely. I have often found myself starting with listening to a particular song that is stuck in my head and then more often than not, I get to my favourite playlist where I have songs that are special to me for one reason or the other. Some remind me of a memorable moment of my life, or of people who have made a permanent place in my heart, some memories that I don't want to leave behind, or some that simply strike a chord with some emotion, or some phase of my life.
The playlist of my favourite songs has become really long over the years, and I don't remember going back and deleting any song from there ever. Pretty much how I am about people in my life. I may add new people, but those people who have been special to me, I never forget. I cherish them. Whether they are with me today, or whether they have moved on. I never move on. Believe me, if I have ever told you that you are special to me, you are still here in my heart, and I think of you often. You are part of the music in my life even today.
Anyway, in this post today, I will talk about some songs associated with these special people in my life. I will take names where I can, and won't where I am not in touch with these people anymore or not sure how they would feel about it. Let me start with a song that I associate with my papa since childhood, and that is because he often sang this to my sister and me, and even today, my sister and I remember the lyrics of this really long and very old song. I think I have covered this earlier, but would repeat anyway:
This is Diya aur Toofan from the movie of the same name. My father (in fact my parents, a strong team) have navigated through various turbulences and persevered. They made do with whatever they had and always made my sister and me party to the big decisions for our family. Even when we were very young, our opinions mattered to them. I remember the long discussion sessions that the four of us would have till late into the nights, discussing things like how to budget for an upcoming family function, or how to deal with a circumstance in our extended family. I will always be very grateful to my parents for raising us to be decisive people who can be accountable for their decisions, whatever be the repercussions.
One of my favorite people sadly passed away too soon. She was my buaji, Madhu. We lost her in 2006. She had epilepsy and had in general spent a very turbulent life and one night she just drifted away in her sleep. She was in her late 40s. But when I think back, I still remember her smiling even through the toughest phases of her lives. This is her smiling during my sister's roka ceremony.
Despite almost always being surrounded by family, she had this aloneness about her where I feel she could not really (I mean really really) talk to anyone. She fought through patriarchal mindsets and a tough marital separation like a true warrior. I remember visiting her every weekend with my parents and she always greeting me with warmth and love. I hope she received some of that in return from someone she held special too. I am afraid, I was too much of a selfish teen to truly appreciate it and reciprocate. But she stays alive in my heart forever. Following is the song that I associate with her. This was the title song of the serial "Imtihaan".
The third song, a ghazal actually, that reminds me of another very special person in my life is "Gulshan ki fakhat" sung by Jagjit Singh. This said friend was an ardent fan of Jagjit Singh and he was part of our lunch group in one of the organizations I worked for. All of us would often go for walks after lunch and he would hum one ghazal or the other. This friend of mine introduced me to the world of ghazals, and till date "Gulshan ki Fakhat" is one of my favorite ghazals, along with "Sadma to hai mujhe bhi". He was, and I am sure still is, a deep, layered person. I still remember him as a mature, sensible guy who always had the best objective advice up his sleeves and I never saw him ever get angry or lose control. He sure taught me a lot. We both got busy in our lives, and lost touch. But I still look back at the moments spent with him with fondness and respect.
My neighbour and a friend till day, Megha, has magic in her fingers. I am not sure if she remembers this now, but even when she was 11, she could make a piano dance to her whims. You name a song and she would whip it out on the small keyboard we often tried our hands on. She never had any formal music training, but even back then, she was somewhat of a wizard with the keyboard. She moved on to the field of finance and I don't think ever gave music a serious thought in her life. But if she had, I am sure she would have got somewhere with it. Today, she is doing very well in her life professionally as well as personally, and I wish her the best always. The following song which I thought was very difficult, she played easily. And that is why I associate this with her.
There are so many beautiful people who have touched my life and made it so much richer and better. This list in not in any particular order and there are so many more people I want to talk about. Would do it soon. Take care you all.
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