By Shashank Shekhar in New Delhi
माँग रखी थी बड़ी देर से जो वस्ल की शाम
वो मेरे हाथ बड़ी देर के बाद आयी है…
… ये मुलाक़ात बड़ी देर के बाद आयी है
लब पे एक बात बड़ी देर के बाद आयी है
The night of re-union has indeed come after an age. I saw my parents (both above 60 years of age) after four months and we lived just 60 kilometres apart. I must admit Ali Sethi’s Chandni Raat became my cure during this lockdown. The song which is inspired by Saifuddin Saif’s Urdu ghazal stays with me when I drive, gaze the sky, dream about my passion, think about my love or even high on sprits. The song is so soulful that it fits right in every situation.
Like most of the people who got engaged in baking, gardening, and painting, I got soaked in music to break the monotony in the lockdown. My morning, which is usually around noon, is a mix of Bollywood, instrumental, Sufi, Coke Studio etc but it makes me no-lesser nationalist in acknowledging how Pakistani artists across the border have brought a huge respite during the gloomy lockdown. Some of them are actually bridging the gap between India and Pakistan by promoting ‘Hindustani sangeet.’
The much-loved Ali Sethi, who is currently in New York, is bringing Indian and Pakistani artists together through his live videos on Instagram. Ali set the ball rolling when he made Farida Khanum go live with her iconic songs – ‘Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo’. Indian filmmaker and singer Vishal and Rekha Bhardwaj were also part of the live video. After receiving numerous requests for live sessions with Indian artistes’, Ali went live with the likes of singer Shilpa Rao, poet and songwriter Varun Grover, standup comic Zakir Khan etc.
Ali is quite an unconventional singer – seen in jazzy blazers and blingy shoes – he can lead you astray and make you believe that he is among the pack of party, daaru, baby, paisa singers. But appearances are deceptive – he is among those who are in their own way are trying to revive ghazals and poetry through his soulful singing.
It wasn’t a love affair with Ali, to begin with – I hated him for daring to attempt legendry singer Mehdi Hasaan’s ‘Gulon Me Rang Bhare’ at Coke Studio. Though now, a strong advocate I am of the fact that no one else other than Ali has done justice to the song. After listening to it on loop, I can confess it is his version I listen to more than Mehdi Sahab’s now.
It seems ‘Umaraan langhiyaan pabbaan pa… (Lifetimes have passed as I wait on a tiptoe)’ waiting to see him collaborate with Indian artistes. As Ali has said in his interviews, ‘Music always transcends borders’. Hope to hear more from you and thank you for making my quarantine so beautiful.
Writer- Shashank Shekhar is Delhi based storyteller.
