THE YEAR 2020 - THE COVID YEAR ....... AND PAGES OF MY DIARY -THE YEAR END COUNTDOWN ........ WITH MUSIC ................!!!!!
Dr Sudhanshu Bhushan
Senior Policy Advisor – ( 15th April 2023... ) at New Zealand Red Cross Auckland, New Zealand Job Description - Policy classification, Consulting & Strategy
THE YEAR 2020 - THE COVID YEAR ....... AND PAGES OF MY DIARY
THE YEAR END COUNTDOWN ........ WITH MUSIC ................!!!!!
THE MUSIC I WAS WITH DURING COVID YEAR 2019-20
YEAR 2020. COMPLETE LOCKDOWN. BUT A MUSIC LOVER’S MUSIC WAS ALIVE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO GIVE HIM COMPANY AND SOLACE. As the year ends I am showcasing my Music I lived with in these difficult times.
I love Indian Music especially classical music and also have a strong penchant for western music. I had first thought of doing a list like ‘My 10 favourite songs of the year ’. But I have a strong dislike for Current Bollywood type of music. I love Indian and Western Classical Music – the symphonies and the ragas and the song based on ragas – likes of Bhairavi, Yaman, Malkauns, Darbari, Pilu etc. What I have chosen to do now is to list ten iconic songs based on classical ragas that don’t have such large repertoires of film songs. Years back when I was flirting with classical music and trying to get a feel for different ragas, these songs were used by me to teach me Indian Classical music when I was a young boy. Agar beat based Western music hee sunna hai – toh original Western pop music kyu na sune. Wertern adaptation of Indian Bollywood songs are neither here nor there. Indian Classical music is based on ragas is pure music and so is Western Music based on pop and beats. Western Classical based on Symphonies is also a class apart for me.
In this canvas of my liking for good music I will showcase the music I lived with in 2020 caged in my apartment during total lockdown. If music be the food of love then play on.
Three categories I am showcasing today –
1. Ten best western songs released in 2020
2. Ten classical ragas based songs I have grown up with. I heard them again and again during Covid -19 lockdown.
3. Ten western music albums released this year which I like very much.
1. First Category. - Ten best western songs released in 2020 – SHORLISTED By ‘TIME’ magazine -
‘PEOPLE I HAVE BEEN SAD’- CRISTINE AND THE QUEENS
‘WAP’ - CARDI B AND MEGAN THEE STALLION
‘YO PERREO SOLA ( REMIX) – BAD BUNNY, IVY QUEEN AND NESSY
‘LITTLE NOKIA’ – BREE RUNAWAY
‘GOOD NEWS’ MAC MILLER
‘THINK ABOUT THINGS’ – DAOI FREYR
‘7 SUMMERS’ – MORGAN AND WALLEN
‘BACK DOOR’ – STRAY KIDS
‘UWRONGO’ – PRINCE KAYBEE, SHIMZA, BLACK MOTION AND AMI FAKU
‘LONG ROAD HOME’ - ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER
2. Second Category - Ten classical ragas based songs I have grown up with. I heard them again and again during Covid -19 lockdown.
1. Raga Jaijaiwanti: Manmohana bade jhoothe by Lata Mangeshkar from Seema (1955), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan
The first of these iconic songs is Manmohna bade jhoote from Seema. Raga Jaijaiwanti is easy to recognize – thanks to its pakad or catch-phrase – rising from ni, just touching ga and then coming to rest on re: the final ‘na’ of ‘Manmoha-n-a-a’ illustrates that. This movement gives this raga a nice teasing quality – which has been put to good use by Shankar Jaikishan in this song that combines bhakti and shringar rasas:
The original composition of Ram Dhun is in raga Jaijaiwanti. The popular version misses out most of the nuances of the raga, but this rendering by Pandit DV Paluskar is an excellent presentation:
2. Raga Bageshree: Radha na bole na bole re by Lata Mangeshkar from Azad (1955), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra
I had a tough time choosing between Jaag dard-e ishq jaag and Radha na bole na bole re as my iconic song for Bageshree. Ultimately I have opted for the latter, as it stays closer to the standard format of the raga. In any case, this was the song my friend used to help me into the nuances of this raga. A treat for those fans of Songs of Yore who missed it in most great ragas Bageshree can be used to express a variety of moods. The song above presents its playful mood. The classical piece below shows what this raga can do to express yearning and pathos. Malini Rajurkar sings a composition that was made famous by the late Kumar Gandharva:
3. Raga Bhimpalasi: Beena madhur mdhur kachhu bol by Saraswati Rane from Ram Rajya (1943), lyrics Ramesh Gupta, music Shankarrao Vyas
I have often wondered why raga Bhimpalasi has such a martial and masculine name, because it is one of the sweetest sounding ragas. One of my friends had used E ri main to prem diwani to introduce me to this raga, but then I discovered Beena madhur madhur kachhu bol by Saraswati Rane for Ramrajya in his collection of old 78 rpm records and was completely mesmerized by it. According to Wikipedia Saraswati Rane was born as Sakina, daughter of legendary Ustad Abdul Karim Khan– doyen of the Kirana Gharana. Her mother Tarabai later separated from Ustad ji and reverted to Hindu names for her children. Her brother Sureshbabu Mane and sister Hirabai Barodekar also distinguished themselves in classical music. So here it is – one of the most haunting melodies from the golden era. You may want to hear Ustad Abdul Karim Khan himself render the same raga: its wonderful.
4. Raga Bhopali: Jyoti kalash chhalke by Lata Mangeshkar from Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan (1961), lyrics Narendra Sharma, music Sudhir Phadke
Bhopali is a subset of my favourite raga Yaman. It is essentially Yaman without the fourth and seventh note. Doing so takes away some of the gravity of Yaman and retains a feeling of pure joy. Another raga from the same family – Shudh Kalyan – omits these two notes in ascending movements, and includes them in descending ones and the mood falls somewhere between Bhopali and Yaman. Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur, in fact, didn’t like the name Shudh Kalyan and insisted on calling it Bhoop Kalyan. For me the iconic composition in Bhopali is the famous Jyoti kalash chhalke composed by Sudhir Phadke from Bhabhi ki Chudiyan:
I was with a Maharashtrian friend when I was learning the rudiments of classical music. He introduced me to Ghanashyam Sundara from the 1951 Marathi film Amar Bhupali. Some of them claimed that this song was the inspiration for Jyoti Kalash Chaalke. Listen to the song and make your own judgment.
Ghanshaym sundara sindura by Panditrao Nagarkar and Lata Mangeshkar from Amar Bhupali (1951), music Vasant Desai
5. Raga Hameer: Madhuban mein Radhika nachee re by Mohammad Rafi from Kohinoor (1960), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
Raga Hameer was introduced to the masses by Madhuban mein Radhika nachi re. It remains to this day the most complete and authentic presentation of this raga in film music. Let the song speak for itself: Years back, long before I developed an ear for classical music, I had read an article in a magazine on Khansaheb Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. A line remained in my mind – ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???, ????? ????? ??? ?? ?? ????? ??? ???. I couldn’t find a recording of Khansaheb’s Hameer in the days of vinyl records and tapes. Internet has proved more resourceful:
6. Raga Hamsadhwani: Ja tose nahin bolun Kanhaiya by Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar from Parivaar (1956), lyrics Shailenra, music Salil Chaudhary
Now a raga from the South. Hamsadhwani is very popular in Carnatic music and I understand no concert in the South is complete without a rendition of the famous composition Vaathapi Ganapathim, which was adapted in the film Parivar as Ja tose nahin bolun kanhaiya.
Hamsadhwani was a favourite raga of Ustad Ameer Khan and he did a lot to popularize it in the North. Here is a tarana by him in this raga:
领英推荐
7. Raga Kalawati: Kahe tarsaye jiyara by Usha Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle from Chitralekha (1964), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi, music Roshan
Another raga from the south – Kalawati. Kahe tarsaye jiyara is the iconic composition in this raga; though another famous one is Koi sagar dil ko behlata nahin. I am presenting the former, as to me it captures the mood of the raga much better (Koi Sagar has some elements of Janasammohini in it). Roshan has done a great job – as always:
A little change in the structure of Kalawati – addition of ‘re’ in the descending movement – changes it into the appropriately named Janasammohini – immortalized by Pandit Ravishankar for Anuradha in Haye re wo din kyun na aye – a song that has never left the top five positions in the list of my all time favorites. I wish to share with you here is a Shabad from Gurbani in Kalawati – Re man aiso kar sanyasa. This recording is in the voice of Asha Bhosle, as taken for the Punjabi Film Nanak naam jahaaz hai. One of the most appealing aspects of Sikhism for a non-Sikh is the quality of Sikh devotional music.
8. Raga Gaud Malhar: Garjat barsat saawan ayo re by Suman Kalyanpur and Kamal Barot from Barsaat Ki Raat (1960), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi, music Roshan
Malhar has spawned many variants. The most well known is Miyan ki Malhar. I learnt only recently that Miyan ki Malhar is not the original Malhar, but a variant evolved by Tansen. Today when one simply says Malhar one means Miyan ki Malhar. The original Malhar is now known as Shudh Malhar. There are very few recordings in it. There are many others – Des Malhar, Gaud Malhar, Ramdasi Malhar etc. Gaud Malhar has two famous songs that sound practically the same – Garjat barsat saawan aayo re from Barsaat ki Raat, and Garjat barsat bheejat aayi lo from Malhar – both composed by Roshan. The ghazal Jurm-e ulfat pe hamein log sazaa dete hain from Tajmahal is also supposed to be based on Gaud Malhar, though I confess I couldn’t identify the raga on hearing it. It sounded more like Chhayanat to me, with some extra notes thrown in. Here, anyway, is the song from Barsaat ki Raat:
Now listen to Pandit Jasraj present the same raga:
9. Raga Kedar: Darshan do Ghnashyam by Hemant Kumar, Mana Dey and Sudha Malhotra from Narsi Bhagat (1957), lyrics Gopal Singh ‘Nepali’, music Ravi
Kedar is another raga, like Yaman and Bhopali,that combines the elements of shant, bhakti and shringar rasa. The iconic song is Darshan do Ghanshyam form Narsi Bhagat. Other songs in this raga are Hamko man ki shakti dena from Guddi and Main pagal mera manwa pagal by Talat Mahmood from Ashiana. None of the others, however, come close to Darshan do Ghanshyam with the voices of Hemant Kumar, Sudha Malhotra and Manna Dey beautifully complementing each other:
Of the classical recordings I found on Youtube this one by Ustad Rashid Khan sounded best to me:
10. Raga Ahir Bhairav: Poochho na kaise meine rain bitayee by Manna Dey from Meri Surat Teri Aankhen (1961), lyrics Shailendra,music SD Burman
Earlier I remarked on the name of Bhimpalasi and the mismatch between its mood and its name. There is no such mismatch for Bhairav. The mood of the raga in its pure classical form is very much what its name suggests – ponderous, somber and overpowering. Think of Raat bhar ka hai mehmaan andhera – although some websites suggest that it is not Bhairav but Jogiya. Music directors have, however, used Bhairav to create some serene and pleasing compositions like Jago mohan pyare from Jaagte raho, and Man re hari ke gun ga from Musafir, by taking some liberties with its movement. Among Bhairav’s variants Bairagi Bhairav is what its name suggests. Nat Bhairav can actually be joyful. Ahir Bhairav, on the other hand, can be very poignant as Poochho na kaise maine rain bitayee from Meri Surat Teri Aankhen amply proves. A strong contender for the title of the best Raga based song from films:
Sanjeev Abhyankar started off by modeling himself on Pandit Jasraj, but now he has evolved his own distinctive style. Here is his rendition of Ahir Bhairav. It sounds beautiful in his rich sonorous voice:
That brings me to the end of this list.
One more thing: while searching for classical pieces on Bhopali I came across this recording on Youtube by Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar. I didn’t include it in the section on the raga because it is long and slow. Moreover the dhrupad style of singing is not easy to appreciate for everyone. I would, however, strongly recommend that you try out this recording when you have some free time to yourself and just allow it to caress your mind. I have heard other members of the Dagar family and I can say without hesitation that they are the best practitioners of music as a form of prayer and meditation:
A more accessible but classically flawless composition is the famous Sahela re by Kishori Amonkar:
That’s it.
3. Now The third category - TEN WESTERN MUSIC ALBUMS RELEASED THIS YEAR WHICH I LIKE VERY MUCH.
“Shortly After Takeoff”. By BC Camplight
Brian Christinzio, an American songwriter, wanted to write a road song. The problem was that in 2012 he had moved to Manchester in the north-west of England, a city which did not lend itself to Springsteen-esque anthems. So he wrote “Born to Cruise” instead, a four-on-the-floor drivetime banger that opened: “I’ve had my indicator on since leaving Crewe/That explains the gestures in my rearview.” “Shortly After Takeoff”, on which the track appears, is both desperately sad and unbearably funny.
“Future Nostalgia”. By Dua Lipa
Poor Dua Lipa released the year’s best pure pop album just as the entire world shut down. This record should have been accompanied by glittery arena shows and TV appearances; instead, it got the kind of lengthy po-faced think-pieces that misunderstood what the album delivered to its listeners—a jolt of fun. Listening to “Future Nostalgia” was like swallowing a whole bag of popping candy, a series of brilliant little explosions.
“Fetch the Bolt Cutters”. By Fiona Apple
“I would beg to disagree,” sang Fiona Apple on - “but begging disagrees with me.” There was no begging favour at all on “Fetch the Bolt Cutters”, an album the listener had to embrace on its own terms or not at all. It was heavily percussive, often furious, but it had a sensual, jazzy swing, too. Its power will accumulate with the years.
“Bloem”. By Fluisteraars
Counter-intuitive though it may seem, it is artists working within the genre known as “black metal”—originated by Norwegians who burned churches and killed each other—who are making much of the most melodic heavy music of the moment. The third album by the Dutch band Fluisteraars had the aggression and bite of the most combative metal, but also an overwhelming melancholy. Those who pay no attention to metal tend not to realise that it can be beautiful, but with “Bloem”, particularly “Vlek”, Fluisteraas produced something that was both gorgeous and thrilling.
“Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain”. By Gwenifer Raymond
In 2018 Gwenifer Raymond’s “You Never Were Much of a Dancer” was an auspicious debut: the young British multi-instrumentalist seemed possessed of the spirit of John Fahey, an “American primitive” guitarist. The tracks on “Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain”, this year’s follow-up, stretched out, allowing her beautifully deft and expressive playing more time to breathe, as well as greater exploration of the musical themes, now no longer tied to America. A bit of a triumph.
“Women in Music Pt. III”. By Haim
If there had sometimes been a slight suspicion among music critics that Haim were a better idea—three sisters audibly in thrall to both Fleetwood Mac and R’n’B—than an actual group, that was banished on “Women in Music Pt. III”, which sounded both effortless and cleverly put together. Even dropping a cod-reggae break into the chorus of “Los Angeles” managed to be cheery rather than cringeworthy. It was such a terrific album that Haim could afford to toss away the brilliant single “Summer Girl” as a bonus track.
“Oh Baby, Don’t Give Me That Look”. By The Replacements
Earlier this year, this unofficial oddity popped up on Spotify: a fantastic recording of the final show by one of the greatest and most chaotic American rock’n’roll bands, The Replacements, in front of 60,000 people at a festival in 1991. It is extraordinary. From a brilliant opening the band audibly falls apart over the course of an hour. It embodies both why they were so loved and why big-time success never came to them. “Here’s another one you don’t wanna hear,” says singer Paul Westerberg halfway through, “and frankly, neither do I.” Complement “Oh Baby, Don’t Give Me That Look” with the official, expanded reissue of their album “Pleased To Meet Me” (1987).
“RTJ4”. By Run the Jewels
El-P and Killer Mike were inspired by the tumult of 2020: Run the Jewels’ fourth album was livid. “Ooh La La” was woozy and distorted, as if the music itself had been sickened by the state of the world. On “Walking in the Snow” the rappers took aim not just at a racist state but at a public complicit in that racism: “You so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me/Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper—‘I?can’t?breathe’/And you sit?there in the?house on couch and watch it on TV.” It was brutal and necessary.
“The Sharecropper’s Daughter”. By Sa-Roc
Those who find the relentlessness of some contemporary hip-hop a little wearing should investigate Sa-Roc, the moniker of Assata Perkins. “The Sharecropper’s Daughter” was assertive without being aggressive, and the production by Sol-Messiah was completely sympathetic, its softness offsetting Sa-Roc’s delivery perfectly. She didn’t make the headlines, but this album was a quiet marvel.
“Untitled (Black Is)”. By Sault
It could as well have been “Untitled (Rise)”, Sault’s other release in 2020, on this list, because the quality was consistent across both albums. Was “Untitled (Black Is)” electronic music? Was it disco? Was it trip-hop? In truth it was a little of all those things, but inventively tackled and beautifully put together, the result of fantastic songwriting rather than studio trickery. You could, if you so wished, take it as dinner-party background music, but there was intensity beneath the smoothness.
“Color Theory”. By Soccer Mommy
For the old-school indie types, the second album by Sophie Allison (pictured) was a balm. Oh, those gorgeous, swooning guitar lines! The hazy organ on “Yellow Is the Colour of Her Eyes”! And Ms Allison’s voice, calm and affectless in the approved indie manner! Indie rock no longer dominates the critical conversation, which means it’s easy to forget that brilliant indie records are still being made. “Color Theory” was one of them.
“Letter To You”. By Bruce Springsteen
Like a superhero summoned to save the city, Bruce Springsteen saw the pandemic and a divided America and decided only the E Street Band could help. But even as he promised listeners to “go where the music never ends” on “House of a Thousand Guitars”, he was offering one of the saddest melodies of his career. It will never again be 1978, and the knee slides are a thing of the past, but has there ever been a star with the sheer goodness of The Boss?
“Starting Over”. By Chris Stapleton
The stranglehold of country radio has forced many Nashville artists to adopt a template that Hank Williams would scarcely recognise: all rock guitars, electronic beats and razzmatazz. Yet Chris Stapleton continues to be one of the few musicians with star status to keep in touch with the lonesome sound of old (see also Jason Isbell and the brilliant Margo Price, who both released albums in 2020). “Starting Over” wasn’t a radical record, but it displayed evident craftsmanship and on “Nashville, TN” he gently reminded the country establishment that not everyone was happy with the state of its music: “So long, Nashville, Tennessee/You can’t have what’s left of me.”
“Hold Fast”. By Stick in the Wheel
Every so often, some artist is held to have reinvented English folk music, which usually means they’ve added some electric instruments. “Stick in the Wheel”, a duo from east London, have a better claim than most. Most of the songs were credited to Trad Arr—short for “Traditional, Arranged By”—with the arrangement as important to the record’s feel as the traditional elements. Their version of folk remembered that the city as well as the countryside has its folk history.
“Folklore”. By Taylor Swift
For a surprise release, Taylor Swift made a surprising musical about-face, marching swiftly away from the R’n’B-flavoured pop of her last couple of albums into a modern form of Americana that is built as much on gauzy electronica as on acoustic guitars. Plainly, her collaborators—notably Aaron Dessner of The National—were instrumental to this new sound, but this was Ms Swift’s show. Her lyric writing, especially on “The Last Great American Dynasty”, was better than ever, and it was surely she who made sure these were sturdy, memorable songs rather than simply pieces of atmosphere.
MUCH LOVE
sudhanshu
?? "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." - Plato ?? Your journey through music in these trying times is truly inspiring! ?? Keep the symphonies and ragas alive, as they are not just tunes, but a sanctuary of peace and creativity. Keep sharing your melody of resilience! ??? #MusicHeals #ClassicalMusicLover