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A unique `jugalbandi'
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Shubha Mudgal's `Chaahat' makes for some soft and serious listening
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THERE ARE times when you just feel like sitting back on your couch, or relaxing on the bed, and listening to music that soothes your mind, and makes you think about life, what life has given you, and what it has not. This week, `Popscene' reviews an album that would do just that. Chaahat (Times Music; CD; Rs. 295) features six melodious tracks sung by veteran Hindustani classical vocalist Shubha Mudgal, and written by lyricist and producer, Manju Sanghi. Each song reflects one particular facet of life, be it happiness, anxiety or belief — and the music sets a background that makes the listener think and ponder over each of these emotions. Elements of Hindustani classical music, contemporary Ghazal music, or the sounds of the dholki — the songs have at least one of these styles blended into them, making sure everyone's musical tastes are catered to.
Though people know Shubha Mudgal as a veteran music figure, it is interesting to look at her foundation in music. Trained under Pandit Ram Ashraya Jha in Allahabad, Shubha moved to Delhi where she began training under Pandit Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya and Pandit Vasant Thakar. As a person who dedicated the bulk of her life to music, she even received lessons in the thumri style of music from Naina Devi. Though Shubha has been maintaining a low-key when it comes to popularity, she is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Padma Shri in 2003. Apart from this, a lesser-known fact about Shubha is that as a composer, her repertoire of Sufi poetry and historic rendering includes rare texts from the Nirguna poetry of Kabir, Namdev and Amir Khusrau, and inspired by many other Sufi poets.
Manju Sanghi, on the other hand, is the granddaughter of Sir Shankar Lal, who is a famous industrialist and poet in Uttar Pradesh At a very young age, she had exposure to poets and music maestros from whom she incorporated her art of writing and theorising.
Grown up on a diet of Ghalib, Omar Khayyam and Kabir, by her religious grandmother, Manju's ideas are very philosophical and, sometimes, mystical. The use of duel meanings for simple words is another Manju speciality. The deeper meaning of the words generally tends towards religion and belief in a supreme power.
According to her, "I am fortunate to have been exposed to the ideas of `Sufism' that uses simple words to convey complex philosophical ideas. The poet in me surfaced when I went through immense loneliness and started questioning the very purpose of life."
This very idea surfaces in the album, Chaahat. The album cover explains the idea behind each song as told by Manju. For instance, the track, Ooncha Balamji Ka Des, is a narration about a young girl in Uttar Pradesh who gets married and leaves a house, where she was showered with all the love and affection in the world, all set to start a new life in a new environment.
Similarly, in Itne Kareeb Ho Mere, the feeling of love is questioned. In true love, it does not need any gestures. For the `mere presence of the beloved should elevate you to the position of being engulfed in love'.
Each song in the album has a central theme, but more importantly, another deeper philosophical theme that surrounds it — and this is the theme that will haunt you and make you think.
A. VISHNU
vishnua@hotmail.com
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