An invitation to a tête a tête

The morning of a new Monday  always starts with a clear mind. The weekend had, as always, been spent with family and guests in the clear environs with good food, lots of idle chatter and music. Choco our foster Beagle is always happier with people around. He must have been the manager of Eagles’ Hotel California, (you can check in anytime you like, but you can never leave!!). He is distraught when people leave and can never understand why they have to do so.

I woke up thinking of the Raag Bilawal, a sampoorna-sampoorna raag with all shuddha swar in aaroha as well as avaroha. The raag is meant to be sung and performed in the morning hours and is actually named after the city of Veraval in Gujarat. It lends it’s name to the thaat, or collection of raags that are closely linked to it.

One usually associates some piece of music or song with the raag and just as I was thinking of one ghazal in this raag, my Whatsapp buzzed with a message which had a link to the very same ghazal from my wise friend in Philadelphia, Nick Maneckshaw. https://youtu.be/J2KQzAeO2OY

A ghazal apt for the time and which could be a refrain for all those friends and lovers separated from those they love and like that’s predominantly based on Bilawal.

When Khansaheb Mehdi Hasan starts singing , everything seems to stand still and one is transported to a better place. The time-space continuum is suspended as even death stops to listen to the divine rendition.

यूँ न मिल मुझ से ख़फ़ा हो जैसे

   ……… एहसान दानिश

यूँ न मिल मुझ से ख़फ़ा हो जैसे

साथ चल मौज-ए-सबा हो जैसे

लोग यूँ देख के हँस देते हैं

तू मुझे भूल गया हो जैसे

इश्क़ को शिर्क की हद तक न बढ़ा

यूँ न मिल हम से ख़ुदा हो जैसे

मौत भी आई तो इस नाज़ के साथ

मुझ पे एहसान किया हो जैसे

ऐसे अंजान बने बैठे हो

तुम को कुछ भी न पता हो जैसे

हिचकियाँ रात को आती ही रहीं

तू ने फिर याद किया हो जैसे

ज़िंदगी बीत रही है ‘दानिश’

एक बे-जुर्म सज़ा हो जैसे

This is a slightly different rendition, again from a live concert, Khansaheb’s preferred format and platform. He has injected some flavours of Bhairavi and stirred up a beautiful blend of truly divine quality. Worth spending 30 minutes listening to this one, too. https://youtu.be/4fndwBb38ME

There is something amazing about the way minds work. Here is a telepathic connection between two minds of friends who haven’t even met one other in real life.

Thanks Nick Maneckshaw, my wise and senior friend who was introduced to me by Bharat Adarkar, this one’s for you.

Stay happy and healthy, folks. Let your negativity and worries melt away with the melody.

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