Music has the
power to override the worst crisis in life. Good soulful music can give an
orgasm unprecedented. Those who have ear for music and worship this divine art
form will surely find my statement disparaging and sacrilegious. That however, I
presume was the best way I could define the overflow of emotion experienced
listening to Indian Ocean perform live in Bhopal.
It was one such evening when heat and chill was
at a tug-of-war, leaving us baffled with an erratic weather. Cannot surmise if
it was the lulling zephyr of the upper lake, the beatific charm of Bharat
Bhawan or the invigorating notes of the popular Indo-Western fusion band of the
country, something had enveloped me in a stupor, an intense one, which followed
me to my dingy one BHK apartment and remained adhered for a substantial period.
The four-member troupe started the performance with a song titled ‘jhini’. By
the time I entered, the open-air theatre was reverberating with enthusiastic
singers crooning along. Not surprisingly, the musically and culturally advanced
breed called Bhopalis were aware of all the songs played subsequently, most of
which I had not even heard of! The only songs I managed to lip sync were the
incredibly popular ‘Des mera’ from Peepli Live and ‘Bandeh’ from Black Friday.
Other songs that quenched the ear’s thirst included tracks like ‘bhor’, ‘Maa
Rewa’ etc. The enigmatic bunch of musicians further bewitched all with
scintillating rendition on a single-stringed instrument, used fundamentally in
Baul music, a genre typical to Bengal. The
musical spell was so profound, I never realized and three hours passed away in
a jiffy, punctuated with small episodes of tiffs between my close buddy and her
usually submissive boyfriend. Getting to meet a candid Rahul Ram, the vocalist
and bass guitarist of the band was like icing on a whole platter of deserts.
Trained in Indian Classical music, a singer who has the chutzpah to smoke chillam
on the stage, Raghu, is one from that coterie of people you feel like having a
cosmic connection with and can relate immediately.
Mellifluous
music and a small talk with an astounding singer, what can be a better way of
signing off a weekend!
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