The Music Man..

72 years ago , A man was born today. Through his music , he made life of an entire nation a li'l more tolerable, pain- a li'l more bearable and love- a li'l more lovable, if nothing else.

There is nothing left to say about his music, his sheer genius. Here i picked up 5 of my most favourite R.D Burman songs..not necessarily in that order :

Yeh Sham Mastani : This is the song from Asha Parekh-KaKa ( oops..Rajesh Khanna) starrer "Kati Patang". This film has a complicated story track (which i forgot almost) with mistaken identity, oppressed widow, sizzling cabaret dancer, lecherous Prem Chopra, sulking Asha Parekh,drinking Rajesh Khanna blah blah blah. But what made the film immensely popular was it's music with numbers like " Yeh jo mohabbat hain" ( which is the anthem of all cheated-in-love-and-drinking-like-fish lovers in pubs!) and "Mera naam hain shabnam" with ravishing,sizzling, swaying Bindu but for me, the real gem is "Yeh sham mastani". Picturised on a too-eager-to-please Rajesh Khanna ( in yellow trousers..!!!!) and a reticent Asha Parekh, with lush,green valley under their feet and a Chrystal,clear sky above them- Kishore Kumar's voice was so beautiful and heart wrenching in this song that it hurts !

Dum maro dum : Ahead of it's time, the Dev Anand directed cult "Hare Krishna Hare Rama" was trend-setter in early 70s in many ways, like fashion, boldness, music, the introduction flower children for the first time in hindi cinema, hippie culture etc etc. and most importantly the original sex goddess of Indian Cinema Zeenat Aman with her super slim waist and super arrogant cleavage! In this song, Asha Bhosle made a whole nation dance with her voice.Iskon demanded banning of the song for the so-called offensive lyrics.Zeenat Aman created a fashion icon out of herself with bell-bottoms, colored glass, namabali kurti , and marigold garland. And this song defined the revolution of a generation.

Is mod se jaate hain : He penned lyrics like dream.He composed music like solid gold. Together both of them- Gulzar and R.D created this musical poetry in motion (literally) from the controversial political drama " Aandhi". Both Lata and Kishore did something which touches one's heart and fills one's eyes.

Do lafzon ki hain dil ki kahani : I think, after this song only Venice (with it's romantic gondolas)became 3rd hottest destination for honeymooners ( 1st two are Paris and Switzerland subsequently!!!) in India. From the late 70s potboiler " The Great Gambler" - this melancholic tune became the song of so-close-yet-so-far-away loving hearts! When Asha Bhosle crooned "yeh zindagi ke din kitne kam hain..kitni hain khusiyan aur kitne gam hain" life seemed not-so-bad suddenly.

Hoga tum se pyara kaun : This is the song of my dream from the film "Zamane ko dikhana hain". Whenever i see it , i imagine myself in the place of Padmini Kolhapure and Rishi Kapur would be singing and proposing to me over-the-roof of a running train. It's beautiful. It's fresh. It's young. And well, "cute" would be the best word to describe it.

P.S.1.- I would like to thank all the F.M channels in Kolkata for playing R.D numbers throughout the day.

P.S.2- My PG mate (a regular bathroom singer) and I ( an occasional one) sang RD songs in whenever we went to bathroom all the day! :)