For the most part of this whole week, I could not decide any topic to write on. It’s something that keeps running in my head that I have a new task to do now. Well it’s not something I have to do, but it feels so good that I want to continue this as long as I can. So coming back to it, as I was looking for a topic to write about, I came across some interesting things. But I chose to write about the one thing that has been there with me since a long long time. Ever since I was a child, I have been in some way or another getting connected to it. Its what keeps me alive and happy! It’s what inspires me when I’m low and blue. It has been my companion throughout for so many years. It’s the music that I listen to. As a matter of fact, I’m listening to A. R. Rahman as I sit in front of my computer writing this.

My father and Sister are good singers. Hence, There was always good music played in our house when I was a child. These are the times when there were no CD’s or Pen drives. Music was only available on Cassettes. I remember we had about 50 Cassettes! One of them, was kept by our parents to record our voices. After having our dinner, me and my sister, aged not more than 3 and 7 respectively, would sit in a corner of our kitchen and play Antakshari. It became a habit, and we were fortunate enough that our parents kept those memories alive for us.

When I listen to that Cassette now, I can’t control myself and end up laughing. I was a kid aged three, who knew all the Bollywood hits of that time. I have even corrected my sister when she sang the wrong lyrics! And my father and mother would laugh on us! It was since that small age that Music has been a crucial part of my life! As I grew old though, I started getting driven away from the Bollywood Music. Because that was the time in Bollywood when we saw the rise of what we all know as “Rickshaw Songs!!” Those Govinda and Salman hits which we all have hated so much, didn’t we? I would like to give credit to my Computer for bringing me back to good music.

Back in 2006, when I got my PC, first thing I did was getting hold of all the pirated CDs from my friends and copying all the songs. And that’s when I was introduced to the best band ever! Well people will obviously disagree to this, but when I say best band ever, I’m talking about Linkin Park! It’s like one of the first bands a boy gets introduced to. Then come the others like Green Day, Coldplay, Bryan Adams, Backstreet Boys & Nirvana! I used to listen to these all day! I hardly paid any attention to what was happening in Bollywood.

Until the end of 2006! I remember it so clearly because that is when I got driven back to it by none other than A. R. Rahman! I chanced upon the trailer of the movie Rang De Basanti one day on TV, and the music attracted me! Being an Aamir Khan fan, I nagged my mom and dad till they agreed to buy me the cassette. I sat down in front of my Cassette player and put it in. I listened to all the songs! And something magical happened. I listened to Roobaroo and felt for the first time, that I must learn how to play that song! So I started learning the guitar with the sole purpose of learning that song!

And I was successful! Well at least my primary aim was achieved in a few months. It still took me time to get it right. Even today I mess it up sometimes, but that decision changed my life! It brought me closer to Music. Until that moment, I used to only listen to songs! Now I tried to play them myself. I was kind of mesmerized by the vastness of music. It’s almost everywhere! I started feeling as if music is everything!

I guess the person who invented the headphones lacked imagination. He or she could only think about how awesome it would be if our lives had a soundtrack! The movies would have been so boring if not for the thrilling soundtrack! How boring would have been the rain, if it made no sound while hitting the ground. How boring it would have been to be on a speeding bicycle or a boat, if we were unable to listen to the sound of the wind. The beach would be incomplete without the sound of waves! The jungle would have been even more frightening, because we would have never heard the birds chirp or the leaves flutter or the streams flow! A horror film would be so incomplete without the sounds of the wooden flooring and ticking clocks and constantly ringing phones and creaking doors and car wipers! Spare the screams of those in the film, and all the fun is gone! Even though it’s just providing a background to the pictures being shown, sometimes it’s as if the pictures move in tune with the music! There is music in everything that is alive, or even dead for that matter. When a string of words is woven around music, it becomes a song. Some words get forgotten, but some stay with us for a lifetime!

Someone great has once said, that if words are the body, music makes for the soul! the body cannot survive alone! The soul is eternal! But some songs are written in such a way, that they form ripples in our hearts! And as they say, I understood the lyrics only when I was heart broken for the first time! (Just kidding! :P) It’s funny how we sort of connect some of our memories with certain people. That’s what makes us love a song or hate it. Whenever we hear the words, we start imaging us with that person. We dedicate certain songs to those close to our heart so that we can express the things we can not say out loud! It’s painful when we listen to the sad songs and cry about all those ‘could have been’ or ‘should have been’ moments.

It surprises me at times when some songs just perfectly describe all that we’re going through. It’s as if the poet was sitting in front of me and writing down everything. I used to avoid listening to some songs because they reminded me of certain people. I know it’s stupid, but you must have read that line and said to yourself, “been there, done that!” I realised my mistake later. So it’s not like I don’t connect songs with people now. But I only cherish the positive memories and vibes that I get from them!

That’s what I actually wanted to experiment this week. I kept my music on shuffle mode as I always do. As soon as a song started, I kind of scanned through my brain to see whose image pops up first. The results are very interesting! I’m not even in touch with some of these people anymore! Still the image that I have saved in my mind has the song attached to it. I’m happy to see them in my head, I hope these guys remember these memories or songs as clearly as I do. I have not mentioned my friends from Naadvedh, because every song we cover gets connected to that singer! So it’s understood that I do share those songs with you all! Of course I could not mention everyone here, because some things are best kept secret! 😉

So the Lucky Winners of the Experiment are-

• Any song from the band Children of Bodom- Melroy, Sanket & Rohan. Because the first is a die hard fan & the later two had made mock videos for these songs using brooms for guitars and Pillows for keyboards and drums! crazy shit!
• Du by Cro- It’s a German song introduced to me by a dear friend Vidisha! It’s a song about a girl, and I remember her when it gets played! 🙂
• Echoes by Pink Floyd- imagine the scene here, me & my friend Shameer are sitting at the edge of a cliff just after a hike. and this guy plays the song. Those 25 odd minutes seemed like an eternity to me. The song eventually got over, but memories remained.
• Charlie Brown by Coldplay- A weird connection about this song. So I was just introduced to this girl named Gowrika. We had only met once. During our second encounter, we were sitting and she was like humming the tune of this song. And I listened to it and guessed the song. It got stuck in my mind!
• Jaane Kyun from the movie Dostana- Dedicated to my dear friends Aditi & Aditya for the kind of Dostana we three share! Always cherish this song! 🙂
• Manjaa from the movie Kai Po Che- It was a stupid joke between me and Vijay. The song is not funny at all, but I start laughing whenever I hear it, thanks to our joke!
• No More Sorrows by Linkin Park- Another stupid joke, more of a an error by my friend, Prasad, which made me and Rajas laugh! The song was renamed to ‘Chinese Power’ and we still call it that! 😛
• Apni Toh Jaise Taise from the movie Laawaris- We were partying at Rohan’s place and all of us started dancing to this song! It was crazy! 10 (drunk.. :P) dudes dancing and jumping around! I don’t remember how the song ended, because I kind of blacked out in between somewhere! But the song remains a favourite among The Fukats! 😀
• Need You Now by Lady Antebellum- I don’t know when we started calling this our song, but me and Mamta share this song as a memory of our college days! I text her whenever I listen to this song and she does the same! It’s kind of a reminder that I do have a great friend, maybe far away, but still precious! 🙂
• Dum Dum Deega Deega- I’ve never heard the original version of the song. I remember this song and know the lyrics only because my father sings it! I don’t know if it’s his favourite song or not, but I’ve seen him perform this song during his singing days and I just can’t forget it! 😀

This has been fun! I hope you all guys get to read this post. And I hope you all will cherish the memories which I have now expressed! I know some of you already know why these songs are here and share the same feelings! For those of whom this came as a surprise, I’m happy you finally know that although I don’t stay in touch, I have my memories with you that I always keep in my heart! 🙂 Those of you who liked my little Experiment can try out themselves! I’m sure your brain will give you shocking results too!

So this is me signing off! I hope you enjoyed the post! I hope those who are music addicts will share the same intensity with me. And those who have lost their music will find an inspiration in this post to look around and find it.

Thanks for reading the post! Do put your comments below and let me know your views! 🙂

Have a Musical Weekend Ladies & Gentlemen! See you Soon!