Boodhe PahaDon Par
vina...@yahoo.com
Pavan,
Thanks for taking me on to BooDhe PahaDon Par. Though it was a couple of
days ago when i got the cassette from you, i could not find time enough to
write about it. Besides, i wanted to get familiar with the album as well.
And now when i have gone through it for at least 5 times if not more, i
found convenient enough to have my say about the score. Also i can't wait
any more.
The album belongs to three persons- <A
HREF="members.tripod.com/~gulzarpage">Gulzar</A>, Vishal and Suresh
Wadkar. And all three are so integral and significant to the score that
each can call it his own album.
There are no lyrics in the album. Only poems. Even the cover will tell
you that,"Poems: Gulzar". Setting poems to tune has never been a easy job
for any music director. Especially the free verse poems. Gulzar has
already made RD grumble 'Kal ko tum Times of India lakar kahoge, is par
bhi dhun banao' when asking Panchamda to tune Mera kuchh samaaN(Ijaazat).
Here too, almost all the poems are written in free verse and the same
kind of effort seems to have gone in tuning them. Thankfully it's not as
obvious. On to the score now.
The cassette begins with 'Naa jaane kya tha'. A light composition by any
mean. A simple verse with hardly any word-wizardry from the master, very
light orchestra and almost hummed by wadkar. Not a masterpiece still an
excellent takeoff to a journey to the valleys, mountains & plains of
poetry.
Four of the songs..err poems have been taken from Gulzar's collection of
poems 'Pukhraaj'. The first 'Yaar Julaahe' is composed in a Fakiraana
fashion. The poem is about human relationships. The poet asks the weaver
to teach him how he manages to weave threads without knots while 'Maine
to ek baar bunaa tha ek hi rishta, lekin uski saari giraheN saaf nazar
aati haiN mere yaar julaahe'. 'Kal ki Raat giri thi shabnam' is a soft
romantic composition with lovely rendering. The strains of mukhda appeal
the senses. Next from Pukhraaj 'Khwaab toote na koi' is sheer poetry -
Gulzar style. And Vishal having understood that has refrained from making
it anything else. There is almost no music while singing goes on. However
the song is interspersed with some excellent interlude music. Listen it
with care - 'Khwaab toote na koi, jaag na jaye dekho/ Jaag jayega koi
khwaab to mar jayega'. The last of the Pukhraaj lot is an aankhen
special-'Teri aankheN teri thehree hui ghamgeen-si aankheN/ teri aankhoN
se hi takhleek hui hai ye hayaat'. (Jaaved Akhtar Saab! here is an
inspiration for your next hit).
'Bairaagi baadal' is out and out a Wadkar's number. Not very often he has
been offered songs with classical strains. And here when he has been, he
excels. One more rain song by Gulzar and Vishal have composed it nicely.
Just check for the amazing similarity of the number with another rain song
sung by the same singer in "Saaz"-the latest Sai Paranjpe film.
So far so good. But It is infact the Part B which makes this album a
milestone in Hindi non-film music.
The first one is a cute, soft, Gulzarish naughty number. 'Mujhko itne se
kaam pe rakh lo/Jab bhi seene pe jhoolta Locket ulta ho jaye to/ main
haathoN se seedha karta rahooN usko'. Beautifully tuned. The typical
Gulzar of "Ek hee khwaab kai baar dekhaa hai maine" (Kinara) is again at
work.
'Kitni sadiyoN se dhoondhti hoNgi tumko ye chaandni ki awaazeN' is
another example of setting a tune fit to the mood of the poetry. You can
hardly escape the feeling of walking in a jungle on a fullmoon night.
Listen to the poet saab, Purnmaasi ki raat jangal meiN, neele
sheesham ke peD ke neeche baith kar tum kabhi suno jaanam
bheegi-bheegi udaas awaazeN, naam lekar pukarti haiN tumheN Only if
wadkar had not sung 'Purnmaasi' as 'Purnmaashi'. A true moodmaker,
anyway.
And now comes the real gem. One composition that will be rejoiced for
years. And this number alone can make this cassette an unaffordable miss
(in case one misses). Some soul stirring poetry set in the mountains of
Kashmir(i guessed it), the most imaginative use of chorus, & brilliant
rendering makes this the best of the lot. And if even that is not enough
Gulzarda breaks his silence with reciting verses in his own murmury voice
in between. 'SadiyoN se giri barfeN/ aur un pe barasti hain/ har saal nai
barfeN'. The three-line style is used with great effect by the master
poet. What makes this poem above par is the ease with which he has
described the beauty of the valley as well as the pain. Using epitoms
like bheDiya the message seems conveyed.
So that was it. A memorable safar to the BooDhe PahaDon Par. For me it
will always be a Gulzar album. The album is not the best of Gulzar, of
course. 'Dil PaDosi Hai' will always be there for that seat.
On the other hand there may be some familiar sounds in BPP. But these are
few and insignificant. There can be other minus points as well. But Vishal
deserves claps and only claps atleast in the first review. Slaps, maybe
next time.
One precaution. Don't even try to make any opinion about the score in the
first hearing. The minimum recommended hearings are 3. The more the
better.
Waiting to hear from you.
<A HREF="members.tripod.com/~vinayj">Vinay </A>
Jaipur
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Pradeep Dubey
vina...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> Pavan,
>
The best two songs are clearly:
- yaar julaahe (chappa chappa class instrumentation) and lovely
'onion-class' lyrics.
- bairagi badal, mainly for its singing
But I must repeat that the one that makes me nearly cry every time
I hear it is that last long chorus song. The 'bheDiya' story is
just too close to the truth and offers a complete 'onion peeling'
experience!
Pradeep