Tu hi mere rab ki tarah hai (Mithoon)

When I went to my college last week, I noticed that everybody was seeing Rab somewhere or the other and Rab was pretty popular. Probably that's the reason Mithoon named his album on a song's second line.

But that's the only thing that is not classy about the album. Or at least the title song. Rest of the song is as good as Mithoon always gives.

Tu hi mere rab ki tarah hai is a typical song of Mithoon, a bit slow, with lots of background and surround music and the same touch as found in 'The Train' songs.

The first song, tu hi mere rab ki tarah hai, or tu hi mera sara jahan hai, as the first line goes, starts with Shilpa Rao (my guess) rendering the first two lines on a high note, with Mithoon mouthing 'Tu hi mera' twice in a surround sound mode just after that and then following up with his typical soothing, Rahman-sort-of voice.

Mithoon's music is great as always. Though he doesn't sing in some new type or genre, the song is as good as it could be, being in the same genre. In the mid of the song, the main musical instrument becomes Tabla and toward the end, the song gets into a completely different mode with the instruments changing to give a lounge feeling.

Mithoon's singing of his genre hardly needs a discussion. It's the same soothing voice zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diye and sounds quite like that of Rahman when the latter sings his slow songs.

Lyrics of the song are, if not exceptional, not bad from any angle. Though the words tu hi mere rab ki tarah hai feel like cashing the popularity of 'Rab', there is nothing to suggest that the song is low quality or something. If you are a mithoon fan, go for the song. If not, try it at least.

Mann chandre (Connections)

First things first. Mann chandre is one the very best songs of Rahman. Or at least that is what I personally felt.

I don't understand Punjabi very thoroughly but courtesy Yash Chopra, i know quite a few words of the language and that helped me a lot in understanding the song, as it's completely in Punjabi, which is probably the only limiting factor of the song.

The song starts in a female voice, my guess being chinmayee, rendering the Punjabi lines in between slow, soulful music. And then suddenly when the song reaches it's peak, Sukhwinder Singh comes in and goes ahead with the song, in the high and low renditions. Later in the song, a soothing voice of chorus comes in to sing the same lines, but this time, the feeling is all the more strong with the chorus singing. In fact for the past sometime, i don't remember such an effective voice from a chorus. Of course in between, Sukhwinder gets a line or two and then takes the song back from the chorus, the background music lighter this time. The most interesting thing I found is that there are only a few lines in the song, which are repeated again and again, but still the music and the effects put in don't let the listener feel that anything is being repeated.

Here are the lines which form the entire lyrics as they are repeated.

Mann chandre nu raas na aave, Na aave dharwaas
Jigar da sauda kyon kar baitha, mukadi jaandi aas
Je lut janda te lut janda dil, hauke kha ke chhup jaanda

Beparwah da ki kehna, Na aave dharwaas..
Jigar da sauda kyon kar baitha, mukadi jaandi aas..
Dard sataunda bedardaan nu, bedardaan da ki jaanda..
Dard sataunda bedardaan nu, bedardaan da ki jaanda..

The English translation of the lines goes as follows:

Crazy heart neither gets satisfaction nor can afford..
Why it did the deal of heart, now even the hopes are dying..
Once heart is gone, its gone! It hides after crying..

What to say about heartless people, there is no relief..
Why it did the deal of heart, now even the hopes are dying..
Pain hurts and heartless have no regret about it..
Pain hurts and heartless have no regret about it..

Here is the SOURCE of the English Translation.

Rahman at Oscar: Appreciation or Ignorance?

Our very dear, very own, A R Rahman gets three Oscar nominations in two categories. One of the nominations is for the same song for which Rahman got a Golden Globe, the golden song - Jai Ho. The thing i'm happy about is that this time Gulzar also got nominated for the song along with Rahman.

The other song in the same category of original song is o saya, which is a fine song, though not upto the level of Jai ho, or even other creations of Rahman while one counts the best of him. Still, a nomination is acceptable.

But the nomination that came more as a shock to me rather than surprise was for a category called Original Score. For slumdog millionaire, of course. This was something i did not understand. I feel that if a movie gets an award (or a nomination) for an original score, it has to have more than a few good songs. And as far as Slumdog Millionaire is concerned, i beg to differ. Slumdog is hardly one of the best original scores Rahman has produced, even with a good song like Jai ho, for which i would like to give credit to Gulzar and Sukhwinder Singh along with Rahman.

If one has a doubt about the mediocrity of the score of Slumdog, one just needs to listen to Ringa Ringa, the song which is almost a choli ke peeche, I need not write, from Khalnayak. (probably more because of the notoriousness of the song, rather than popularity)

Though, i was told by somebody that Rahman and the Slumdog team wanted to give a 90's touch to the music. But then, i suppose if it's that much inspired or has a 'touch', it can't be Original.

On the whole, the thing that troubles me the most is that Rahman has made far better songs than the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire, but owing to the ignorance of the 'big' people, the ones giving out all those Golden Globes and Oscars, and who never came to know about all that great music of Rahman, all awards are being given to a mediocre creation of Rahman, and I feel it's unfair to all of us Indians who know what actual Rahman is. And still, we're so happy to get all these awards. But I don't feel like celebrating the ignorance of these big people myself.

Anyway, for now I wish all the best to Rahman, because he has given us lots of lots of great music for which he deserves a lot more.

Jiya Se Jiya (Connections)

First of all, two words about Connections. It's music.

Pure, straight from the soul, true work of a genius we call A R Rahman, Connections, an album launched on the Nokia Xpressmusic phones (5220, 5320, 5800 as far as I know) is something which is not exactly commercial music, even though it comes straight from the business community rather than the aesthetic movie people.

The first song I heard from the album was Jiya se Jiya, the one featured in the advertisement of the Xpressmusic phones. The song Jiya se Jiya is credited to Karthik who has been Rahman's favorite for quite some time now and sang Behka in Ghajini, one of the most popular as well as critically acclaimed song. (Yes, now even songs are critically acclaimed)

The song starts with some typical Indian music that is just like what you listen at a big Indian festival like Durga Pooja in Bengal or Ganesh Utsav in Maharashtra. Big music with lots of traditional instruments and big sounds of Dhol and nagada and even claps.

And then, the song starts.

Ude re umang, bina dor ke patang, ek doosre ke sang, jud gaya jiya se jiya,
jiya se jiya, jiya se jiya,
koi gaaye dhun koi naache jhun jhun koi kahe sun sun jud gaya jiya se jiya,
jiya se jiya,
ambar se surtaal barse gulbar se gulhaar barse,
ambar se surtaal barse gulbar se gulhaar barse jud gaya re jud gaya jiya se jiya,
jiya se jiya, jiya se jiya, jiya se jiya..

Raat hai aaj gulabi raat gulabi
Naach rahi murgabi haan murgabi
Jud gaya re jud jud gaya re jud jud gaya re jud gaya jiya se jiya
jiya se jiya, jiya se jiya,

Ude re umang, bina dor ke patang, ek doosre ke sang, jud gaya jiya se jiya,
jiya se jiya, jiya se jiya,
koi gaaye dhun koi naache jhun jhun koi kahe sun sun jud gaya jiya se jiya,
jiya se jiya,
ambar se surtaal barse gulbar se gulhaar barse,
ambar se surtaal barse gulbar se gulhaar barse jud gaya re jud gaya jiya se jiya,
jiya se jiya, jiya se jiya, jiya se jiya,
Jiya se jiya!

Oops! I wrote the entire song. Well, actually I was just planning to write a line or two to give readers a feel of the lyrics but when I started I felt like going on and on and so I did write it. The song actually has a lot of Indian feel attached to it. Rather I should say that the entire album has a different Indianness attached to it and quite touches the soul of an average Indian, though I doubt how many will get to listen to the album due to the limited release.

On that note, I'd like to mention that you can download this song from youtube or songs dot pk or maybe some other places too. I'm not a supporter of piracy but I guess buying a phone for the songs will be a bit too much. So, just doenload this one.

Another interesting thing is that probably because the song is made for a phone release, it generally sounds better on headphones than on speakers as you can feel more surround sound like things there.

A full marks song. Listen to it. I very much hope you'll like it.

Dil Gira Dafatan (Delhi 6)

King is King.

Well, Dil Gira Dafatan proves that only. While AR Rahman gets his due credit for this beautiful composition, the British-born Singer Ash King is the one who deserves probably more for adding life to Rahman's composition with his beautiful voice as he sings Dil Gira Kahin Par Dafatan.

Ash King has sung Dil Gira Dafatan really wonderfully. So much so that right from the start of the song, when Ash starts crooning Dil mera, dil mera.. one starts wondering who is the singer.

What all Rahman has used for the music, I can't tell. There is so, so much. All I can say about the genre is that it's a 'Different' song. The song is a slow number, a rendition by a youthful voice who is singing completely from the heart.

The singer seems to be sitting near some sea, on a rock, and the song reminds me somewhat of Dooba-dooba, not because of the song but the instruments, though the sounds of wind in the background are quite desert-like.

Another question which is there on my mind is about the video of the song. The voice of Ash King, our heroic singer is so much heartfelt that I'm thinking how they can let Abhishek perform the hero with that. My say is that if he does it, and does it properly, it'll be a big deal.

Chinmayee, an all time favorite of Rahman, is the supporting voice and she does her job pretty well. And not to forget, Prasoon Joshi does a real good job again. Ghazalon ki sohbat mein geet bhi behek rahe hain... Excellent!

But still, at the end, it's Ash King who is the King of the song. Or in my words, King is King.

Lyrics:

Dil mera Dil mera
Dil Meraaa

Dil Meraaa......
aaa......

Dil Mera Dil Mera
o..o...ou.... aee...

Dil, Gira kahin par.. daffatan
Dil, Gira kahin par.. daffatan
Jaane.. Magar Yeh nayan
Teri Khamosh zulfon ki.. gehraiyaan
Hai jahan dil meraa uljha hua hai wahin kho gaya
Tu magar hai bekhabar, hai bekhabar

Dil, Gira Kahin par daffatan
Kyon goonj rahi hai dhadkan...
Jaane magar ye nayan

Seepiyon, ke honth se moti chhalak rahe hain
Ghazlon ki sohbat mein geet bhi behek rahe hain
Samandar lehron ki lehron ki chaadar odh ke so raha hai
Par mein jaagoon ek khumari ek nasha sa, ek nasha sa ho raha hai
Tu magar, hai bekhabar.. hai bekhabar..

Dil, Gira Kahin par daffatan

Kyon goonj rahi hai dhadkan...
Jaane magar ye nayan
Khushbuon mein lipte mausam...
Teri Khamosh zulfon ki gehraiyaan
Hai jahan dil meraa...
Uljha hua hai wahin kho gaya
Tu magar, hai bekhabar.. hai bekhabar..

Dil! Gira Kahin par daffatan!

Rehna Tu (Delhi 6)

Strange how one can see certain patterns in the songs A R Rehman sings himself. The soft, philosophical ones (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na-Tu bole, Ada - Meherbaan), his typical high pitched ones, mostly patriotic (Swades - Ye jo des hai tera, Bose - Jaage hain, Vande Mataram - Vande Mataram), his multi-singer ones (Yuva - Dhakka laga Buka, Yuvvraaj - Dil ka Rishta, RDB - Khalbali), and his praising-the-lord ones (Fiza - Piya Haji Ali, Jodhaa Akbar - Khwaja mere khwaja) cover most of the songs sung by him as he doesn't sing 'normal' songs.

This time Rehman doesn't sing the 'praising Him' song himself but instead goes for the philosophical one. The song is a slow number and will take its time before you like it. If you don't have the patience, you lose it. The song feels quite like the Title track sung by Rehman in Jaane tu ya jaane na as both have a certain amount of philosophy attached to them along with romanticism.

Rehna tu is a song in which the guy asks his lover to remain the same and to not change, praising his lover in the course. The lyrics of the song are good and Rehman sings the song ever so softly. Quite typical of him. Towards the end of the song Rehman also uses some wind instrument which runs for almost a minute.

Overall, the song is good. The only thing that I felt is a bit out of place are the few lines that say it cannot be both right hands when you walk holding hands. In those lines Prasoon Joshi suddenly seems to be going philosophical from romantic. The lines remind me of 'Tu bole glass adha khali, main bolun adha bhara', but in that case it was all part of the song.

Still, Rehman's music and singing fill all the gaps and the song goes smoothly. In fact, high chances are that a listener won't even notice the lyrics I feel out of place. So listen to the song when you are free. Once, twice, see the movie, and you'll be humming it someday.

Lyrics:

Rehna tu
Hai Jaisa tu
Thoda sa dard tu
Thoda Sukoon

Rehna Tu
Hai Jaisa TU
Dheema Dheema jhonka
Ya phir junoon
Thoda sa resham
Tu humdam
Thoda sa khurdura
Kabhi tu ad jaye
Ya lad jaye
Ya khushboo se bhara

Tujhe badalna na chahoon
Ratti bhar bhi sanam
Bina sajawat milawat
Na zyaada na hi kaam

Tuhje chaahoon, jaisa hai tu
Mujhe teri barish mein bheegna hai ghul jana hai
Tujhe chaahoon jaisa hai tu
Mujhe tere lapat mein jalna rakh ho jana hai

Tu zakhm de gar
Marham bhi aake tu lagaaye

Zakhm pe bhi mujhko pyaar aaye

Dariya
o... dariya
Doobne de mujhe dariya
Doobne de mujhe dariya

Rehna tu
Hai Jaisa tu
Thoda sa dard tu
Thoda Sukun

Rehna tu
Hai Jaisa tu
Dheema Dheema jhonka
Ya phir junoon

Haath tham chalna ho
To dono ke daayen haath sang kaise
Haath tham chalna ho
To dono ke daayen haath sang kaise

Ek daayan hoga ek baayan hoga
Tham le haath yeh thaam le
Chalna hai sang thaam le

Rehna tu
Hai Jaisa tu
Thoda sa dard tu
Thoda Sukun

Rehna tu.......
Hai Jaisa tu
Dheema Dheema jhonka
Ya phir junoon

Thoda sa resham
Tu humdam
Thoda sa khurdura
Kabhi tu ad jaye
Ya lad jaye
Ya khushboo se bhara

Tujhe badalna na chahoon
Ratti bhar bhi sanam
Bina sajawat milawat
Na zyaada na hi kaam

Tuhje chaahoon jaisa hai tu
Mujhe teri barish mein bheegna hai ghul jana hai
Tujhe chaahoon jaisa hai tu
Mujhe teri lapat mein jalna rakh ho jana hai..

Arziyaan / Maula Maula (Delhi 6)

A R Rehman suddenly gets all divine whenever there is a song in the service of God. Same is the case of Arziyaan in Delhi 6. Now that the song is not sung by Rehman himself and this time it's Javed Ali and Kailash Kher singing the song, the song is not as divine as Khwaja mere Khwaja, but very close, or still closer to Piya Haji Ali. Though in a few places Rehman gets slightly experimental, the song is basically one from his old styles.

Javed Ali, probably for the first time, is not feeling anything like Sonu Nigam but more like Kailash Kher himself as he croons Sufi music. His voice in fact sounds a bit husky and a bit different from his previous songs, but most of the times easily identifiable.

Kailash Kher does his job with perfection, as usual, and his bonding with maula-bande gets stronger with the song.

Arziyaan is a qawwali/sufi song with a huge length of more than eight and a half minutes. And Rehman must be applauded for the fact that even that length doesn't bore the listener. In fact in the first few hours of getting the song, I listened to it a number of times.

Lyrics of Prasoon Joshi are quite upto the mark and he has written some very good lines too. But for me, one word that didn't fit the song for some time is 'Marammat' as it suddenly takes me to mechanical engineering from the Sufi song (actually, first thing that comes to my mind is a plumber doing the 'marammat' of water tap n all). But then, in the beauty of the song, it's lost and I got used to it.

I don't think I've more to say about the song. I'd just advice to go for it.

Lyrics:

Arziyaan saari main chehre pe likh ke laaya hoon
Tumse kya maangoon main tum khud hi samajh lo.... maula
Maula maula mere maula

Maula maula mere maula
(Maula maula mere maula)
Maula maula maula maula
(Maula maula maula maula)
Daraarein daraarein hain maathe pe maula
Marammat muqaddar ki kardo maula
Mere maula..

Tere dar pe jhuka hoon mita hoon bana hoon
Tere dar pe jhuka hoon mita hoon bana hoon
Marammat muqaddar ki kardo maula
Marammat muqaddar ki kardo maula..

Jo bhi tere dar aaya
Jhukne jo sar aaya
Mastiyaan piye sabko
Jhoomta nazar aaya
Pyaas leke aaya tha dariya wo bhar laaya
Noor ki baarish mein bheegta sa tar aaya
Noor ki baarish mein.. o... noor ki baarsih mein bheegta sa tar aaya
Maula maula....

Daraarein daraarein hain maathe pe maula
Marammat muqaddar ki kardo maula
mere maula..

Jo bhi tere dar aaya
Jhukne jo sar aaya
Mastiyaan piye sabko
Jhoomta nazar aaya

ho..
Ek khushboo aati thi
Main bhatakta jaata tha
Reshmi si maaya thi
Aur main takta jaata tha
Jab teri gali aaya
Sach tabhi nazar aaya

Mujh mein hi wo khushboo thi
Jisse tune milwaaya...
Maula maula...

Daraarein daraarein hain maathe pe maula
Marammat muqaddar ki kardo maula
mere maula..

Toot ke bikharna mujhko zaroor aata hai
Par na ibaadat waala shahoor aata hai
Sajde mein rehne do, ab kahin na jaaoonga..
Sajde mein rehne do, ab kahin na jaaoonga,
Ab jo tumne thukraaya to sanwar na paaoonga
Maula maula....
Daraarein daraarein hain maathe pe maula
Marammat muqaddar ki kardo maula
Mere maula..

Sar uthaake maine to kitni khwaahishein ki thiN
Kitne khwaab dekhe the kitni koshishein ki thiN
Jab tu rubaroo aaya nazarein na mila paaya
Sar jhukaake ek pal mein..
Sar jhukaake ek pal mein maine kya nahi paaya

Mora piya ghar aaya
Mora piya ghar aaya....