Roundabout: Music triumphs over words in reaching out to the soul – Hindustan Times

As a student in my nomadic childhood, hopping from one cantonment to the other, in Mater Dei Convent in Delhi, I recall the nun who taught us music waving a baton in hand to orchestrate the song we had to sing in three different groups for a multi-school show in the Kamani Auditorium. The song was ‘All things shall perish from under the sky, Music alone shall live… Never shall die’. With our childlike minds, we would wonder that if all perished under the sky, including us, then how would music live? Little did we know then that music was not dependent on human existence for survival. It took time to realise that music is the very umbilical cord of nature and is present in the whistling winds, in the lapping of the winds, in the rustling of the leaves and so on. Music is there in the calls of the birds and growling of animals and for humans it is the very soul of love, as Shakespeare said, and that is why we sing on.

Now, this explanation of music and its bounties to human existence brings back to my mind an interesting anecdote. In the early eighties, I had the chance to interview the famous playback singer of Indian cinema, Talat Mehmood, who was visiting the city to sing at the annual Rose Festival. By then, the handsome Talat with a golden voice had turned old, and I was but a budding journo. Delicately, I asked him that since he was considered the voice of the yesteryear leading actor Dilip Kumar, after whom many girls were crazy, “Did you as his voice have female fans too?” The melodious singer guffawed and said with a smile: “Girls will always fall for singers and poets, in this way our country is truly artistic.”

Sound of music

Now coming to the two-decade or so growing trend of literature festivals, led by the mother of all lit fests in Jaipur, music remains an important part of the content. Be it shaking a leg to the band at night with a glass of Sula wine in hand or swaying to the spiritual notes of morning music, enjoys an essential space amidst the literary fare. After all songs too are words which need to live on.

The recently concluded KSLF three-day litfest had a rich content of music, midst discussions and face-to-face with literature. Music made the prelude and postscript of sessions, thus giving a chance to seasoned and budding musicians. There were concerts by well-known Sufi singers Sonam Kalra and Minnu Bakshi, besides space for fresh young talent. The opening morning saw a young singer from tricity, Yogita Sharma, striking the chord with inspirational film songs like ‘Woh subah ka hi tau aayegi’, penned by Sahir Ludhianvi and composed by the great Khayam. After a pleasant journey of songs of togetherness, she sang the 1962 Lata number, which had brought tears to the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the losses in the Sino-Indian war as a tribute to the Indian soldiers. The second day belonged to a unique artiste from Mumbai, Naviin Gandharva who is the only one playing the unique instrument called the Belabaharr. This was invented by his father Baburam Gandharva by combining the principles of the violin, sarangi and vocal chords. It was indeed refreshing to hear his music, both classical and light classical.

Kasauli’s own Veda, named Veda Lyela as a child, made an out-of-the box presentation while playing the guitar in which she combined the folk songs and poetry of different cultures in the spirit of the common human impulse. “I learned of different cultures in my travels with my parents as a child and the common struggle and struggle of people irrespective of their language and nationality. The oral traditions are fascinating. Folk songs born in a region are passed down from generation to generation. These I gather into my songs that may come from Iran, Palestine and closer home Kashmir.” Indeed, these fusions stand for the very heartbeat of the people.

Rene Singh and ChatGPT

For a couple of years there had been a search for a theme song for the KSLF. Several tried, including humble I, and celebrated Vikram Seth but nothing seemed to work. Finally, Ashvini, the talented IT man without whom the festival would be impossible, got a befitting salute from ChatGPT. This scandalised some of the oldies that technology had taken the better of human talent. However, it took the talent of Delhi’s well-known semi classical singer Rene Singh to turn it into a befitting salute to Khushwant. She says: “I was at a loss on what to do with the ChatGPT in English. So, I translated the essence of it into Urdu, a language the author loved, and sang that interspersed with a recitation of the words that had come out of the computer! Well, be at rest as the human touch still matters.