….with a happy tune anybody can be a singer

My visit to Rajasthan a couple of years ago left me mesmerised. The place is a repository of a rich history and culture and every local person I met there had a tale of valour to share with me. Of course, by the end of my second day there I could write a thesis on Maharana Pratap and his horse, Chetak! 

Whenever I had no sightseeing scheduled I would listen to a folk artiste play the 'ravanhatta' and discuss music with him – Rajasthani folk music, the Maand and the instrument he regaled us all with.

One of the places I visited was a Parashuram temple, tucked away in a cave amongst the hills. The only way to get there was by foot – a 120 minute trek. As I made my way to the temple, I heard some music playing on someone’s phone. At first I couldn’t believe my ears but when I concentrated I was sure of what I was hearing - ‘Kolaveridi’! Amused, I spoke to the young man who was playing that on his phone. It turned out he was a Rajasthani , didn’t understand the lyrics at all and most of the words seemed like tongue twisters to him. By then, the ‘Kolaveridi’ song going viral on the internet had found its way, as a case study, into the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. So why was I surprised to hear that song, somewhere in the hills of Rajasthan, on the way to a temple set in a cave!

Personally, that song didn’t appeal to me at all; the singer was off key, the lyrics did not portray a class of poetry that I had spoilt myself with and there was absolutely no music to it. May be that was the reason that it caught everyone’s attention so easily - it was a ‘song’ that anyone could sing! ‘Kolaveridi’ made me realise that music didn’t have to be perfect to be appreciated. Who could forget the way Sridevi tried to sing in the Yash Chopra film, ‘Chandini’. And no, there was nothing soothing like the moonlight in her voice! Again, she was off key and her voice wasn’t even pleasant to the ear. I feel the same about Abhay Deol’s contribution to ‘Seniorita’ from ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’; but the best part here is that he made no pretence about being a singer, simply enjoying himself!

May be my training in music has given me this very bad habit of listening to music critically.

But as Lobo croons ‘…with a happy tune, anybody can be a singer’!