When was the last time I heard a melodious song I could hum in my lonely moments. It seems like melody has vanished from life. There are no memorable songs to hear or see. Soulful music is becoming extinct. Nowadays people’s ears are plugged to their smartphone’s musical Apps like Gaana, Spotify etc. There are dozens of songs to hear. But where is the soulfulness? Ages back, I had a vast of audio cassettes to boast of. It was a celebration of music. From Raf Saheb’s soulful voice, Kishore Kumar’s melodious rendition to A.R.Rahman’s music, there was sound of music in every corner. From Gramophones. transistors, Walkman to tape recorder, music smoothly flowed in the ears of melody lovers. People had ears for music. Cassettes were in high demand. They were sold overnight. Thanks to great singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Kishoreda and Asha Bhosale. Music was alive because of these musical artistes. Sadly, we lost two great singers in recent times: The goddess of music – Lata Mangeshkar fondly called as ‘Lata Didi’ and singer KK. Singer KK was true successor of Kishore Da. He had that flair for melody in his voice that breathed life in every song he sung. His song ‘Khuda Jaane’ remains my all-time favorite. His departure is a big blow to Indian music. KK will live on through his soundtracks played on radio, TV, Youtube and Gaana.
It was the radio station – Vividh Bharati that made me fall in love with music. I loved tuning my ears to songs played on Vividh Bharati. From Kishore Kumar to Kumar Shanu, I enjoyed songs of every artiste. There was a touch of nostalgia and philosophy in old Hindi movies. Songs from Anand, Sagar, Yeh Vaada Raha and the 2007’s musical movie – Saawariya ruled my playlist. There was a music for every situation. The Sony Walkman and Panasonic Tape recorder brought out the bathroom singer in me whenever I felt like pouring my heart out. Songs from Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na – Kabhi Kabhi Aditi, Kahin To Hogi Woh set the mood for college reunion. There is a song for every occasion. My favorite used to be ‘Yeh Dooriyan’ from Love Aaj Kal whenever I took a train ride. The song reminded me of someone.
‘Gaadi Bula Rahi Hai’ sung by Kishore Kumar sets the mood for a journey off to a holiday destination.
Sadly, now online music overtook the industry and audio cassettes, CD’s became extinct. Gramophones are only object of memento. Someone truly said “Music is food for the soul”. I hope someday the melody returns back into my life, inspiring me to hum a song.