Songs while driving on an highway
Songs – Isn’t it strange that when you listen to your favorite song, all the memories around that song come alive, leaving you mesmerized yet again? Amidst the cacophony of daily life, for once, you like to fall in the crevice of memory, which keeps you spell bounded till either the song completes or when someone jolts you back to the brutal present.
I have a habit of listening to songs while driving. Nothing wrong with it. The sad part is that when I listen to songs, my mind wanders. Not that I lose focus on the road, but it seems my subconscious takes a detour and travels down the bylanes of my memory. Recently, while listening to Jagjit Singh’s ghazal, I started thinking of how and when I became fond of ghazals. When did it all start?
I don’t exactly remember when my affair with music started. Perhaps it was school when I was preparing for boards, or was it during engineering. Not sure. But what I am sure it that music has a song for every situation. Few songs are good, few are even better as they are related to a memory or an incident, while a few just define you. They just make you feel that its done exclusively for you. It feels so perfect.
I was fond of fast music when I was at school too, some dancing numbers, lyrics were not something I was interested in. Things changed when I moved to college. It was then when I picked up listening to ghazals and believe me, Jagjit Singh’s mellifluous voice has no parallels. His is a deep, heart-rending soul-stirring voice. Also, the lyrics are so powerful that they can melt mountains. Perhaps, this jugalbandi played a pivotal role in shaping my emotions.
It was then when I actually started believing that relations are the best things one can treasure in life. The bond between two people can be made so strong that words are no longer needed. Only a glance is enough to communicate, and sometimes, even that is not required. There are so many deja-vu moments that bind them together. Relationships are nurtured with love and care and they never die a natural death, they are always murdered.
With this understanding of relations, I entered the corporate world. The brutality of competition and I-care-a-damn attitude daily killed something in my heart. The daily turns and churns of life, made me forget the invaluable lessons imparted during college time. Now, who has time for relations when one can make money by working in this time? We all kill something inside daily to make our ends meet. But just for once, on a lazy Sunday, after lunch, slide on a couch and let Jagjit Singh’s voice engulf you, immerse yourself deeply into it, and just don’t listen, feel it.
I love to see other people happy and succeeding. If each one of us is happy, there would be less tension and lesser disharmony. Till that happens, mortals like me need someone to hug me, believe in me, and say that I am with you. Life is a collage of experiences, relations, and memories. What binds it together is the sound of music… ironically, we need noise to appreciate music, sadness to feel happiness, and hatred for love. Still, Life is an experience, live it.
