Silken Salute

Imagine a scenario when you, after having been fed on a sumptuous course of delicious delicacies on a regular basis, are then suddenly denied the privilege of those same delectable dishes...suddenly you get those dishes only as a rare occurrence and the really frustrating part being that it's not coz you don't have the means to access those dishes rather they have just been stopped being made as a regularity.

That has been the exact same feeling that every Sonu Nigam fan has been put through in the past two years. After the appetite being whetted beyond imagination during the course of a decade of soulful singing, there was suddenly a lull...and the desperate us, such badly addicted that we have been to his lilting voice, just didn't know where to put our ears. Of course, his mastery over his craft is such that hadly any blame can be put to us poor souls for getting hooked on in such massive proportions.


Of course, there was the occasional song which brought much needed joy to our parched ears like the tragic "Sau Dard" or the melodious "Main Agar Kahoon" or the haunting "Inn Lamhon Ke Daman" but these though being more than very welcome only served as a reminder to what all of us were missing so badly. These were interspersed across the music scene with an irregularity which was baffling to our ears. Of course, there is hardly any doubt that what finally matters is quality rather than quantity yet one always had the feeling that if ever anyone could maintain quality along with quantity in this era, it had to be Sonu.

Not to say that the songs in this period gracing our ears were not good, not also to say that the voices singing those songs were incompetent yet there was always a feeling of inadequacy, a sense of something missing almost like a vital ingredient in our daily course, an activity going off our regular schedule of things...
But as is said that you appreciate the true worth of something when you are denied it and the joy of getting those treasures back is much more profound, so it's almost with a feeling of unabated bliss and uncompromised glee that I have been listening to my playlist these days.

Sonu is back and how...it all started with that lilting romantic number "Mannata" from Heroes which brought back memories of mushy tracks back again, a true blue romantic track with an inherent innocence about it.
Next up was the spell binding "Aawara Raahi Gumshuda" from Dasavidaniya...a throwback to the golden era of Bollywood music, this song discards all the jazz and snazz of today and concentrates purely on melody.
Then the music of Yuvvraaj was out and us fans were treated to 3 masterful tracks by Sonu..."Mastam Mastam", "Dil Ka Rishta" and "Shanno Shanno" just went on to prove beyond doubt as to what the genius od Rahman could do coupled with the versatility of Sonu...packed with refreshing tunes and backed with European classical music these songs have a classic zing to them.
And finally the latest treat from Sonu is "Phir Milenge" from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi...first time I heard this song it completely blew me away and trust me it keeps doing that everytime henceforth...kudos to the duo of Salim-Sulaiman for preparing and mixing this track. Yet this song would not have been what it is if not for the genius of Sonu. A tribute to the music of Bollywood over the decades this track brings out the versatility of Sonu to the fore...what is absolutely astonishing and yet heart warming to note is that Sonu has in fact brought a tinge of the original singers of these masterpieces to the song while at the same time maintaining his individuality...*enthralled*

Next up on the anvil is another association with Rahman in the upcoming Ghajini. Also on the horizon is an English album "Spirit Unfolding" which will be an amalgamation of English n Eastern tunes. And of course, the glory of Rafi Resurrected is still very fresh in our ear drums:)

It is such a relief to hear Sonu with a far greater regularity now...sheer joy I tell you and God knows we have missed his silken vocals...May our ear drums be graced with many more gems from Sonu Nigams's stable!!!

P.S. The sombre mood accentuated in the last post is still not comletely gone, dis is life after all...there are no miraculous turnarounds here but am fighting, trust me I am...

P.P.S. The music player has two songs for a change now

• "Aawara raahi gumshuda" n
• "Phir milenge"

Happy listening guys...njoy!!!