Delhi-6

ZAreee zArree mein usi ka noor
hai Jhak khud mein woh
na tujhse door hai
Ishq hai usse
TO sab se ishq kar
Ishq hai usse TO
sab se ishq kar
IS ibadat ka
Yehi dastoor hai
Is mein
us mein
aur us mein hai wohi
Is mein us mein aur us mein hai wohi
Yaar mera HAr taraf bharpur hai ….

Prasoon Joshi’s lyrical excellence reaches another high with Delhi-6. Time and again he goes on to create magical worlds through magical words. ‘M’ in music stands for melody, and in many present day songs the “M” is missing. Music divorced of M makes ‘u Sic’ and here we come to the end of my musical prowess. The right blend of melody, lyrics and music makes Delhi-6 worth everything. It skirts the real, earthen feel of Hindi music.

Prasoon’s lyrics are in tandem with the creative excellence of Gulzar and Akhtar saab. Any comparison though, I agree, will be unreasonable and unfair. A good song is where its music seems the only way for the thought to have been communicated. Any other beat, rhythm could do injustice to the life of the song. Rehman’s music has just the same effect on us via Delhi-6.

The number sasural genda phool is peppy, foot tapping and soulful. At the same time the meat of the song lies in its meaningful and sardonic lyrics. The genda phool, which looks beautiful, is devoid of any fragrance, is compared to the over hyped notion of a good sasural. The mundane daily happenings of a bride, at her in-laws place, gets placed in the sarcastic demeanour of the narrator. The pace of the song gives it a young feel while the thought twists a smile on the face of listeners from all age groups.

The Aarti and Arziyaan define what a well crafted hymn should be. We have grown up to the likes of Om jai jagdish, Om jai Ambe gauri… Basically we sing all the artis (almost all) in the same tone and just change the lyrics. So, in a way we do not discriminate between our gods. Here’s how Rehman comes in, instead of a stereotyped Anuradha Podwal arti, we have a new, resonating hymn which takes us at another level. Rehman did it with his ‘ek onkar..’ but this time it’s even better. The lyrics with all the gods – Lord Shiva, Krishna and the rest- praying at the door step of maiyya –Durga is beautiful and unique.

Massakalli, name of the pigeon and alter ego of sonam kapoor, is again vivacious number. The repetitions like a stuck Cd do sound funny but add to the perky effect. R ehna Tu, Hai Jaisa Tu, has glimpses of Rehman’s previous work and has interactive qualities. Hey Kaala Bandar is a ‘thinking’ song. You need to listen to it. It is not the usual hiphop number, the song is loaded with innuendoes.

With no formal knowledge of music or even informal knowledge, I won’t and can’t, call it a music review. But, it is just a way to show how enchanting the music was for me. My writing can be referred to as a genda phool – with its spirit intact, but the technicalities of it are missing. An effort any how.