{"id":5639,"date":"2017-01-03T00:25:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T00:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/?p=5639"},"modified":"2017-01-03T22:55:35","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T22:55:35","slug":"the-intoxication-of-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/the-intoxication-of-music\/","title":{"rendered":"The Intoxication of Music (Sangeet ka Nashaa)"},"content":{"rendered":"

First of all, I\u2019d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year\/\u0928\u092f\u093e \u0938\u093e\u0932 \u092e\u0941\u092c\u093e\u0930\u0915 \u0939\u094b (Nayaa Saal Mubaarak ho)<\/strong>! Over the past four months, it has been my pleasure to share with you my musings about Hindi language and culture, and I\u2019m extremely grateful that you\u2019ve joined me on this journey. I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed my past posts, beginning with a show<\/a> that prominently features Hindi and North Indian culture and history, Bollywood films<\/a> and music<\/a>, Hindu festivals such as Navratri<\/a>, the history of Indian immigration to America <\/a>and the important contributions Indian Americans have made to American cuisine<\/a>, popular culture<\/a> and literature<\/a>, the debates<\/a> surrounding Hindi and its sister language, Urdu, social issues such as the glorification of fairness<\/a> in India and the caste system<\/a>, major Hindi literary figures such as Mahadevi Varma<\/a> and Suryakant Tripathi \u2018Nirala\u2019 <\/a>and my personal experiences in Rajasthan<\/a> and traveling throughout North India <\/a>and in Calcutta (Kolkata)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In all of these posts, one of my major goals has been to improve the Hindi learner\u2019s cultural literacy; by this I mean just that, in order to learn a foreign language, especially for those not of South Asian origin, it is integral to learn about the culture of which that language is a part. Especially in the beginning stages of my journey to learn Hindi, I immersed myself in Hindi movies, music and Indian literature and dreamed about the day when I would get to travel to India. Even before I began formal Hindi classes in college, the cultural knowledge I had already gleaned from these experiences aided me immensely in learning the language. One of the greatest things about learning a new language is that it unlocks a door onto another culture that may be drastically different from one\u2019s own, affording you the opportunity to appreciate life through an entirely different perspective. And, as you continue learning a language, you quickly learn that culture and language are engaged in an endless feedback loop: through learning about the culture, you come to understand the language more and more and vice versa.<\/p>\n

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Image by Fred Miller on Flickr; these signs are quite common on buses in California, where I live; it reads: “Our treat; come to McDonald’s and enjoy.”<\/p><\/div>\n

Another important thing to remember, especially for those who would like to start learning Hindi as part of a New Year’s Resolution, is that the journey to learn a new language, especially as an adult, never ends. Although it may not seem like it at first, this is actually a positive message in that the joy of learning is endless and there are no set goals after which your journey “ends.” Even one of my most distinguished Hindi professors in college, who is British and has been learning Hindi for most of his adult life, in response to the question, “How long did it take you to learn Hindi?” (\u0906\u092a\u0915\u094b \u0915\u093f\u0924\u0928\u0947 \u0938\u093e\u0932 \u0939\u093f\u0902\u0926\u0940 \u0938\u0940\u0916\u0928\u0947 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0932\u0917\u093e?\/Aapko kitne saal Hindi sikhne me lagaa?)<\/strong> inevitably answers, “I don’t know, I’m still learning” (\u092e\u0941\u091d\u0947 \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u092a\u0924\u093e; \u092e\u0948\u0902 \u0905\u092d\u0940 \u092d\u0940 \u0938\u0940\u0916 \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0939\u0942\u0901\/Mujhe nahin pataa; Main abhi bhi sikh rahaa huun)<\/strong>. I’ve heard language learning compared to many things, but one of the comparisons that seems the most accurate and has thus stuck with me is that of a plant you are nurturing; you have to water it every day, even just a little bit, so that, over time, it will flourish and bloom.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s post, I\u2019d like to share one of the most emotional experiences I\u2019ve had in learning Hindi: discovering and listening to the incredible playback singers employed in the popular Hindi film industry, also known as \u201cBollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n

To keep this post relatively brief, I will discuss only five playback singers:<\/p>\n

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Mohammed Rafi, \u092e\u094b\u0939\u092e\u094d\u092e\u0926 \u0930\u092b\u093c\u0940 (1924-1980)<\/h2>\n

Even if you are not usually a fan of \u201coldies,\u201d I encourage you to give this singer a chance. I remember distinctly the first time I heard this talented and versatile singer\u2019s mellifluous voice and was instantly hooked. As with most playback singers, especially of this era, Rafi was trained in the technically demanding Hindustani classical music tradition; but, as a singer of popular film songs, Rafi was capable of singing virtually any type of song with skill and style, from songs extolling India as a nation, melancholy numbers and romantic songs to Urdu ghazals (\u0917\u093c\u091c\u093c\u0932<\/strong>, a type of Urdu poetry), bhajans (\u092d\u091c\u0928<\/strong>, or Hindu religious music) and qawwali songs (\u0915\u093c\u0935\u094d\u0935\u093e\u0932\u0940<\/strong>, or music hailing from the Sufi spiritual tradition of Islam). Not only was Rafi\u2019s voice incredibly fluid between genres of music, but he was also able to change the personality of his voice to match the actor\u2019s persona who lip synced the song that Rafi was actually singing.<\/p>\n

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Mohammed Rafi\u2019s \u201cbarsi\u201d (\u092c\u0930\u0938\u0940, fem. noun)<\/strong> or death anniversary celebration at a private club in Jaipur, where local singers performed some of his more popular and classic songs in honor of this legendary singer. I couldn\u2019t help singing along to some of my favorites, like \u201cChaudvin ka chand,\u201d (\u091a\u094c\u0926\u0939\u0935\u0940\u0902 \u0915\u093e \u091a\u093e\u0901\u0926 or \u201cThe 14th<\/sup> Moon\/The Moon of the 14th<\/sup> Night\u201d<\/strong>), \u201cSuhaani Raat Dhal Chuki\u201d (\u0938\u0941\u0939\u093e\u0928\u0940 \u0930\u093e\u0924 \u0922\u0932 \u091a\u0941\u0915\u0940 or \u201cThe pleasant night has ended\u201d<\/strong>) and \u201cKhoya Khoya Chand\u201d (\u0916\u094b\u092f\u093e \u0916\u094b\u092f\u093e \u091a\u093e\u0901\u0926 or \u201cThe Hidden\/Lost Moon\u201d<\/strong>). Here\u2019s a link to one of his lesser known, though fantastically catchy, songs, called \u201cYun To Humne Lakh Haseen Dekhe Hain, Tumsa Nahin Dekha\u201d (\u201c\u092f\u0942\u0901 \u0924\u094b \u0939\u092e\u0928\u0947 \u0932\u093e\u0916 \u0939\u0938\u0940\u0928 \u0926\u0947\u0916\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902, \u0924\u0941\u092e\u0938\u093e \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u0926\u0947\u0916\u093e\u201d<\/strong> or \u201cThough I\u2019ve seen a thousand beauties, I haven\u2019t seen one like you\u201d<\/strong>) from the similarly titled 1957 movie Tumsa Nahin Dekha<\/em>\/<\/strong>\u0924\u0941\u092e\u0938\u093e \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u0926\u0947\u0916\u093e\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(I haven\u2019t seen one like you<\/em>)<\/strong> starring the legendary goofball Shammi Kapoor (\u0936\u092e\u094d\u092e\u0940 \u0915\u092a\u0942\u0930).<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ezpvc3lNLK0<\/p>\n

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<\/h2>\n

Udit Narayan, \u0909\u0926\u093f\u0924 \u0928\u093e\u0930\u093e\u092f\u0923 \u091d\u093e (born: 1955)<\/h2>\n

Udit Narayan was one of the first singers I ever listened to when I first became interested in Indian culture and Hindi movies. He\u2019s an amazingly prolific singer who is originally from Nepal. Like most Hindi playback singers, he sings in a wide variety of South Asian languages and has won numerous awards for his singing in films. Narayan\u2019s most distinguishing feature is known as his \u201cgolden smile\u201d or the powerful auditory quality of his songs which makes it seem as though he is smiling while singing a song. Here\u2019s a playful song featuring an indigenous Australian instrument or “Didjeridoo” called \u201cJaane Kyoon Log Pyaar Karte Hain\u201d (\u091c\u093e\u0928\u0947 \u0915\u094d\u092f\u094b\u0902 \u0932\u094b\u0917 \u092a\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0930 \u0915\u0930\u0924\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902, \u201cI wonder why people fall in love\u201d)<\/strong> from the popular 2001 film Dil Chahta Hai<\/em> (\u0926\u093f\u0932 \u091a\u093e\u0939\u0924\u093e \u0939\u0948<\/em>, The heart desires<\/strong>) (part of this movie is set in Australia, where there is a robust Indian expat community, hence the didjeridoo), starring Preity Zinta (\u092a\u094d\u0930\u0940\u0924\u093f \u091c\u093c\u093f\u0902\u091f\u093e)<\/strong> and Aamir Khan (\u0906\u092e\u093f\u0930 \u0916\u093e\u0928)<\/strong> with music direction by the renowned trio Shankar-Ehsan-Loy (\u0936\u0902\u0915\u0930-\u090f\u0939\u0938\u093e\u0928-\u0932\u0949\u092f)<\/strong>. The female voice in the song belongs to none other than the famous Alka Yagnik (\u0905\u0932\u0915\u093e \u092f\u093e\u0917\u094d\u0928\u093f\u0915)<\/strong>. She and Udit Narayan formed a beloved \u201csinging duo\u201d who would often sing romantic songs together.<\/p>\n