Golden Era of Indian Music

I know there is a strong risk of sounding blasphemous when I say this,
but I have come to believe that we going through the golden era of Indian Music.
You may not have noticed it that way; since the golden era is supposed to be
the 50s and the 60s and some part of 70s, when the Kishores and the Rafis
and the Burmans and the Latas and the Ashas were ruling the roosts;
Neither did I.

Last night, driving back home, my music system happened to pick-up
the Album D-DAY from a mix-song Hindi CD and my instant reaction was –
oh what crap, how can I listen to something like a D-day.

Probably I was too tired to change the track or it was just plain serendipity,
I let the song play. And the rest of the drive back home was sheer magic.
I listen to the track (Alvida), repeatedly over and over again.
And started telling myself, wow, how come I missed this music.
And the answer was simple, there are jewels hidden all around and that
happens only when you are living in a Golden Era.

There is so much good music available all around, that we are spoilt for choices.
And to keep track of all the music that is good seems tough!

I remember the 90s and the early 00s, we use to wait for some good Hindi music
to be released and feel blessed else had to be content with the Ghazals and the Sufis and the Classicals.

Today on the contrary, Bollywood is churning one amazing music album after another:
and most of them are soulful.

In 2014 alone, we have movies like Queen, Highway, Lootera which are great musicals in themselves.
Not just one song, but all the songs. While what attracts one, is the peppy ones of the album
(London Thumukda in Queen and Sawarn Loon in Lootera),
but what one gets pleasantly surprised is that the other numbers of the album are
one better than the other. (Manmarziya, Monta re etc of Lootera).
Even a cheap sounding movie like Hasi Tau Phasi, not only turned out to be a good movie,
but has had some good music too.


And to add to that, there is immense talent all around –
thanks to the popular media, the “rule of the few” (as was the case in the past) has ended.
When there is a Rehman – the God, churning out a beauty like Highway,
there is also Amit Trivedi with Queen and it is difficult to compare which is better.
Imagine there is challenge even for God himself.
So we are no longer dependent on a few to give us good music.
While Rehman and Shankar-Eshaan-Loy stand at the pedestal, at equal height is Amit Trivedi,
Hitesh Sonik, Clinton Crejo.

Same is true for singers. The days of dependency on a few singers are over.
This was proven true a few years ago, when Rahman decided to choose new comers
over Sonu Nigham in Rang De Basanti. I was left wondering for a long time,
what made Rehman to do so. How good would have the songs of Rang De sounded,
if Sonu had sung them!

Today, while Sonu is where he is, we also have singers like Amitabh Bhattacharya,
Benny Dayal, Arijit Singh et al, who are equally soulful.

And some part of the credit for this change definitely goes to MTV.
They changed the music scene in India when they introduced Coke Studio
and Unplugged for India. While these programs were already classics in the west
(and also pakistan), would they thrive in India was yet to seen.

And considering that the season 1 of coke studio did not create so much appreciation;
partially for the unfair comparison with already established coke studio Pakistan
and partially because of too much experimentation by Lisle Levis.
Still season 1 gave us classics like Aa Mil Yaar by Wadali brothers, Allah he Ream
by Sankar Mahadeven, Chittehya by Sunudhi and Oh Maaji re by Shaan,
which ensured that coke studio came back.
And season 2 onwards, it unleashed the potential of new age music composers
like Amit Trivedi, Hitesh Sonik and Clinton Crejo.

And suddenly we had kid singers like Devendra
Singh singing a classical like Nirmohiya along with Harshdeep Kaur and Vishal
Dadlani coming to his own along with Sonu Kakkar singing Madari Madari.

And by season 3, an epitome was reached with Rehman composed a mesmerizing
fusion of Karnatic music, Hindustani classical music, Sufi music and Western jazz
in the song Soz o Salaam sung by Padmabhushan Ghulam Mustafa Khan and family.

Today, there is no dearth of good music directors, lyrics writers or singers,
both in bollywood music and in independent music albums.
Many kids in India today are growing up aspiring to have a career in music;
a social trend which around a decade ago would have been looked down upon,
but parents today are fully supporting these kids. Wow!

Indeed this is a Golden decade and a Golden Era of Indian Music. Long live Music!

"Music is like Meditation. Listing to good music, listening to pure music, is like sitting in a temple and worshipping God”


Alvida, D-Day http://youtu.be/mnsznLWSYJs

May 29, 2014 at 11:25am