Music

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” ― Albert Einstein

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.” ― Leo Tolstoy

If I have to pinpoint to one song being the first I’ve ever heard, it might be wrong, but only one track pops up “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. The iconic image of John Travolta walking down the road with a can of paint in his hand trying to flirt with every girl he sees on the road will always be etched in my memory. The credit for that goes to my father who was and is an avid enthusiast of music and as he calls it “off beat films”. The memory of my first song ever should have ideally been a Hindi one as I was born and raised in Pune, an up coming metropolitan in Inda, in the mid 90s. My father had other ideas and I am very grateful to him for the same. After Bee Gees it was Abba then Boney M, little by little my brain actually turned into a Disco. This phase, I believe, is also the main reason I feel I am obsessed with Disco balls. Even though I have fond memories of English music, I was also exposed to a fair amount of Hindi music as it was all around us. Every weekend during lunchtime the radio would be on in the background tuned to 101.0 Vividhbharti. The radio became a part of the family adding to the lunchtime conversation. As soon as 2 beats would play I could see my parents eyes light up. Dad would blurt out the name of the song and the movie then sing each and every lyric correctly and in tune. I used to think he was a superhero. Now when I manage to do it I see the same reaction on other people’s faces. History repeats itself. Even now when I am sitting in my room writing this his phone is playing “Diye Jalte Hai” by Kishore Kumar, his favourite singer.

When I started to comprehend and somewhat understand what I like in terms of music the worm that was implanted in me took root and spread like a wildfire. In 2000 a movie called “Kaho Na Pyaar Hai” was released and everyone was hooked to the songs, including me. It is a very well known tactic in Bollywood that if a movie has good songs it would do well in the box office. I used to listen to the whole cassette of “Kaho Na Pyaar Hai” on loop and I became obsessed. Then came, what my brother and I are thankful for to this date, a channel on television called “ICC Song Select”. The basic working model of the channel was that a list of songs was displayed on the screen and people could call in select the songs they want to listen to and the channel would play that song. This opened up a whole new world for me. Suddenly I was exposed to genres, artists and songs that I never knew existed. Later on, channels like MTV India and Channel V came into the picture. These 3 channels were responsible for names like Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Anu Malik and others from the legendary 90s era of Bollywood become an integral part of my life and playlist.

We used to stay below my aunt’s house in our old apartment building. Her children i.e. my cousins have also had a major influence on my music taste, especially English music. With the invention of the computer and dial up internet, the world became a smaller place and things were easily accessible. My cousins got a computer and my brother and I could play FIFA 99 for an hour on Sundays. My brother would mute the in game audio and play songs in the background on Winamp. That’s when I heard what is my now all time favorite music band, Metallica. I can still picture “King Nothing” play in the background to us playing with Arsenal in FIFA. Another memory of an English song that I have is when “ICC Song Select” introduced an English section. I remember only one song from that time which is “Whenever Wherever” by Shakira. I still get nostalgic when I listen to it today. So from childhood I have been exposed to many genres of music. Nowadays I make it a point to listen to and discover new songs, new artists and new genres and it has become very easy with the invention of smart phones and various apps that are dedicated to music.

Music has now become such an integral part of my life that it had to be the 1^st topic I wrote about. A day doesn’t go by when I don’t listen to songs. Some days for a few minutes and some for few hours but music is essential. I have also figured out that I don’t have a particular genre like most people do. I tend to consume all available forms of it based on liking mood and feeling. My song history is full of electronic to rock to pop to even music scores. This helps me to connect with people who listen to various genres themselves and through music I have met many interesting individuals who are now a very important part of my life. All drinking sessions have to be accompanied with music; some sessions are such that the alcohol accompanies the music. I have learnt that in some situations I express better using songs rather than words and have now understood the concept of a ‘song dedication’ which was previously alien to me. Music for me is also equivalent to time travel, I listen to a song and I am immediately taken back to the time and place that my mind has subconsciously associated with that song. Contrary to the famous lyrics in the Miss Elliot song “music makes me lose control”   for me music makes me gain control. It is my therapist. I have gained an understanding of emotions, perspective, peace and importance of loved ones through the lyrics of people I consider as geniuses who had a deep knowledge about the art of living. I still cannot comprehend the way music and lyrics are written. The day I would understand that I would have attained spirituality in my own sense. Till such a day arrives I take solace in being an avid listener and letting songs help me heal, learn and grow as a person.