caught me unawares..

zara tasveer se tu, nikal ke saamne aa..

meri mehbooba..

Heard this song from Pardes today after ages. And it has never ever made more sense :)

..magar kab na jaane, ye barsaat hogi,

mera dil hai pyaasa, mera dil akela..
zara tasveer se tu, nikal ke saamne aa..
meri mehbooba..

As they say, be positive ;)

rehna tu, hai jaisa tu..

Sublime trance.

That's the state I've been in ever since I loaded my iPod with the music of AR Rehman's latest offering, Dilli 6 (yeah, I refuse to call it Delhi 6, Dilli sounds soo much more in character).

Over the years, waiting for a Rehman soundtrack has become an event in itself. Forget the movie, the stars, the directors, the banner - nothing else matters. It is only about the man and his music. Just like it has always been. Simple, unassuming, pure and genius.

With Dilli 6, the expectations are a plenty too. Teaming up once again with Prasoon Joshi, the man who's becoming synonmous with understated and uncomplicated poetry (not lyrics) and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, the man whose cinematic vision and sensibilities provide scope for an enchanting musical score, ARR does a splendid job one more time. Here's a low down of what I think of each offering

tumhre bhavan mein - think a late summer evening in an old semi-dilapidated, dusty, cramped up temple, the only light being the amber glow of the flickering diyas. Add about 12-15 middle aged women, sitting on the ground, huddled together, heads covered with their dupattas or the pallu of their sarees, hands joined and eyes closed in prayer, humming this one in chorus, revering one of the incarnations of maata raani. tumre bhavan mein conjures up these images everytime I listen to it. Marvellous. Especially, the way there is no rhythm used in the song, not even clapping of the hands - there's only strains of the taanpura and a constant "ting" of the mandir ghanti. Very very nice.

bhor bhaye - can't remember the last time when a classical song of such nature was included in a mainstream OST. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khaan saab wields his magic, but the massive surprise package in this song is the way Shreya Ghosal holds her own against the big wig. She is fantastic! This one's for the connoisseurs.

dilli 6 - the title track - funk personified. madness personified. Here's Delhi's anthem for the 2010 Commonwealth games. A brilliant ode to the capital city, the title track has everything going for it. From the husky singing, to the foot-tapping rhythm that changes tempo just when you don't expect it to, to Blaaze's fantastic rap, to the words that bring a smile on your lips - "ye shehar nahin mehfil hai.." - I mean, could you better encapsulate the spirit of the city in a single sentence? I think not :)

basti hai mastaano ki dilli, dilli...

gali hai deewano ki dilli, (six)

ye dilli hai mere yaar,

bas ishq mohabbat pyaar..

masakalli - What the hell does this word mean? Literal meaning aside, in the context of this song, it just means masti! Full on masti! I mean, when was the last time you heard a singer have sooooo much fun with a song? Mohit Chahuan goes absolutely all out with his singing, backed by ARR himself on the chorus, a wicked tune, brilliant orchestrization and the result is a phataka of a song. Just can't help smiling to this one. Get ready for a few Best Male Playback awards next year for sure. This one's a sure shot winner. And from the promos, if Sonam Kapoor's latka jhatkas are anything to go by, the video is gonna be kick-ass too.

genda phool - one word, hooked. Absolutely hooked. You really will be. Rekha Bhardwaj's vocals are sheer magic. And her first collaboration with Rehman turns out to be truly memorable. Though not a proper song-song per se, this one is more a musical narration of what a married lady goes through in her sasuraal - saas, devar, nanand, et al. The piece starts of with a very traditional sound to it, but the way a funky electric guitar bass & rhythm kicks in just at the right time, the song just takes an altogether different turn. I just keep nodding my head & smiling through the 2.50 minutes duration of the song. Endless loop material, this one.

kaala bandar - is a pretty unique experiment. With the tune, the rhythm, the words (especially), the pacing of the song, the styles and the singing too - an amalgamation of various Rehman songs and sounds we've heard in the past. As soon we start comparing it with a particular song from the past, the song changes gears and we are left scratching our brains all over again. I like the kaala bandar metaphor in the song being used for our material pursuits and sins- this should make for interesting viewing on screen. Looking forward to seeing how Mehra uses this in the narrative.

dil gira dafatan - well, this seems to be the quintessential Rehman number. One that grows on your after several multiple hearings. Hasn't grown on me as yet, but I sure will give it another trip. Maybe its too complex and nuanced for my musical sensibilities. Well, another hear won't do that much harm, will it? :)

arziyaan (maula, maula) - what can I really write about a song that says

daraarein daararein hain maathe pe maula,
marammat muqadar ki kar do maula...

This is sublime trance at its very best. Kailash Kher and Javed Ali team up to give us one of the best (and subdued) qawaallis of late. Just a simple harmonium based tune accompanied by clapping of hands and a tabla-dholak based rhythm, maula mere maula is enchantingly & mesmerizingly beautiful. The words are simple and very very profound too (Joshi, take a bow brother) -

jab teri gali aaya, sach tabhi nazar aaya,
mujhe mein hi wo khushbu thi, jis se tune milwaaya...

And the fact that ARR doesn't sing this one makes it completely different from piya haaji ali and khwaaja mere khwaaja...Brilliant stuff this from ARR. He really is blessed as they say.

rehna tu, hai jaisa tu - save the best for the last as they say. This one's perhaps the best of the lot. Prasoon Joshi outdoes himself with the words and Rehman's singing does perfect justice to the poetry. Off late, Rehman seems to be finding his long-lost jazz roots (like the title track in Jaane Tu) - though this one falls in the same overall genre, it is totally different from what we've heard before. Here, Rehman falls back upon what I think is one his biggest strengths as a composer - his very unique style of using chorus singers. Just listen to the song and you'll know what I mean. More than the tune, the singing or the composition, what touches you most is the soul of the song, the basic idea of accepting someone just the way they are. Nothing more. Nothing less.

rehna tu, hai jaisa tu..
thoda sa dard tu, thoda sukoon...
rehna tuuuuuu, hai jaisa tu..
dheema dheema jhonka, ya fir junoon....
thoda sa resham, tu humdum, thoda sa khurdura,
kabhi to ad jaa, ya lad jaa, ya khushbu se bhara..
tujhe badalna naa chaahon, ratti bhar bhi sanam,
bina sajaawat, milaawat, naa zyaada na hi kamm...
tujhe chaahon...jaisa hai tuuu..
mujhe teri baarish mein bheegna hai, ghul jaana hai..
tujhe chaahon, jaisa hai tu..
mujhe teri lapat mein jalna, raakh ho jaana hai...

Though the obvious reference is to a loved one, I couldn't help notice the way the basic idea applies to one's motherland as well. To India. How much ever we would want things in India to change, we still wouldn't want the basic nature of India to remain intact just the way it is - the warmth, the bigheartedness, the love, the spirit!!

Rehman - really, rehna tu, hai jaisa tu...

After being enchanted with the music the way I am and given Mehra's cinematic reputation after Rang De Basanti, Dilli 6 sure deserves a 3-hour drive up to Seattle to watch ARR's music gel with the brilliant visuals on the big screen.

The countdown to Feb 21 begins.

living upto my DNA

Of all the things passed down from one generation to another, food, I believe is the most ever-lasting of the lot. Each family kitchen has a peculiar taste to it, one that is acquired over years and years of preparing the same delicacies, recipes changing hands, everyone adding that a little bit of their individual touch to it, but none that over-rides or drastically changes the underlying taste. Now that would be considered sacrilege.

Being born into a family of food aficionados, over the years, food, I mean good food, holds a special place in our lives. The palate has been exceptionally lucky to have tasted the best of so many different cuisines and tastes. Food, is just not meant to satiate hunger. It is meant to enthrall the taste buds, the senses and eventually touch your soul. As the saying goes, pet bhi bhare, aur dil bhi.

Sunday lunches in most homes are when the special delicacies are brought to the table. And being born into a Sindhi family, amidst every other lip smacking delicacy Sindhi cuisine has to offer, that special place on the Sunday afternoon lunch table unarguably has to go to the absolutely one of its kind tamaate besan ji kadhi - the tomato besan kadhi. Add steaming white rice, crisp fried aalo took and sweet boondhi to the mix - and that is as close to culinary Nirvana as you can get. And I've been very fortunate to have attained such salvation almost every second Sunday at home. Home! Those really were the days :)

As I was picking my fortnightly groceries at the supermarket the other day, the red ripe tomatoes caught my fancy. Though they were not on my list, I still carefully started picking the best of the lot. And from absolutely no where, I uttered to my friend, "yaar is Sunday kadhi banaate hain" - to which he suspiciously arched his eyebrows, like he usually does and replied, "uske liye itne tamaatar kyon chahiye?"

Aah, the uninitiated, I thought. Thinks that kadhi is perhaps just of the besan or dahi kadhi variety.

"Tune Sindhi tamaatar kadhi nahin khaayi kabhi kya?"

"Tamaatar ki kadhi banti hai??"

And I knew it. The time had come. As if the Divine was almost hand-holding me to take the next step in my cooking escapades. The besan tamaatar ji kadhi was irresistibly calling out to me.

As much as I am a fan of experimental cooking, throwing in masalas which don't 'belong' to a particular dish, changing the consistency of the gravy and what have you, there are some things that you just don't tamper with. Especially if it is the most revered item from your cuisine and you're trying it for the first time :)

So after confirming the recipe from Maa thrice this morning over web chat and actually typing every little detail into a hurriedly put together text file on my desktop, I was ready.

And little did I know that Maa's blessing, tastes and jaado would actually fly all the way from Bombay and sneak into the kadhi steaming in my kitchen. When I scaringly lifted the lid after letting it simmer for 20-25 minutes, the fragrance and taste that hit my nostrils almost transported me back to Bombay. Its been almost a year since I've been home and here I was relishing the khusbhoo of tamaatar kadhi after such a long time. That too, in my kitchen!!! Wohoooooo. My joy knew no bounds. I was like a 5 year old kid, jumping around in the kitchen.



And when I hesitatingly took that first sip and bit into a moist piece of bhindi, I was almost in tears. It had turned out better than my wildest imagination.

A few years back, cooking by myself, for myself, was almost an unthinkable prospect. And here, I was making tamaatar kadhi of all things and it had turned out lipsmackingly fantastic. Life, I tell you, doesn't ever cease to surprise :)

And my friend who had come over to dinner and had helped me along the way, was spellbound too. Watching him relish every morsel only added to the fantastic experience.

I called Maa as I was at the dining table. I just had to share the moment with her. And her voice told me how proud she was, hearing me rave about my first kadhi experience.



The evening of Saturday, Jan 10, 2009 eventually turned out to be when my cooking came of age and my life in the kitchen turned another corner. It would never be the same again. And the fact that it was just the right time for Sunday lunch to be served back at home is just not a mere coincidence. Some things, as I said, are just not meant to be tampered with :)

Maa, I miss you all the more today :)