Songs of Life

Music, Memories and Time!

Bollywood songs add meaning to the movie scenes. Songs can draw emotions through words, music, visuals, and sounds.

Take this climax for example. Veer and Zara are re-uniting. Zara thought Veer had died in a bus accident, where as he was in the prison for the last 22 years. They have loved each other all these years and are finally meeting in a courtroom. I think one cannot do justice to this scene without the music.

Shahrukh Khan was the best in the game, mainly when the scene was about reuniting of two people after a long time. We saw this in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham as well.

---

Sometimes memories get attached to different songs. Whenever you listen to the song, it takes you back to that specific memory.

Whenever I listen to Maa from Taare Zameen Par, it reminds me of my parents' conversations about sending me to a hostel when I was in school. Brazil, Lalala Lalala reminds me of every birthday party I went to as a kid. Saadi Rael Gaddi Aayi reminds me of every wedding/family function where we made a human train on the dance floor.

So, the song becomes the background music to that memory. And one never forgets the song, hence the memory remains as well. So here are my three memories and the songs attached to them:

1. IT’s 3 AM

We were in a nightclub and the music was loud. I have always been an extrovert who loves to party, but 3 am in a nightclub is where I draw the line. 

She could see that I was getting annoyed and asked if I wanted to go out. I couldn’t hear her because the music was too loud, so I just followed her. While we were about to leave, she saw that one of her friends got sick. So she helped her, while she was throwing up. I got them some water and then the three of us sat on a bench right outside the club. 

Her friend passed out on her shoulder and I decided to wait for them while their cab arrived. Rangi Saari was playing in the club and she told me that it was her favorite song these days. 

A four-minute song with just four lines of lyrics didn’t make sense to me. So she explained that it doesn’t have to make sense. It’s just the beats that matter. While the old classics have depth and beautiful lines, you can’t dance to them in a nightclub. She was right.

We just sat there and waited for the cab.

2. WE ONLY HAVE 2 HOURS!

The first thing she told me when we met, was that she only had two hours. Her deadline to reach back to the hostel was 7 pm. If she didn’t get on time, the warden calls her parents. I never had deadlines and looking back I realize that I was lucky that I didn’t.

I liked this constant rush in everything we were doing. We went to a café, made a quick run to Delhi-Haat, had ice cream and now we were heading back to her hostel.

We were in the cab and the hostel was 5 minutes away. Gustakh Dil was playing on the radio. This is one of the 2000s songs you can dance to. She asked me if I knew the lyrics and I did.

We jammed over this song through those five minutes and it was fun. We then reached her hostel at 6:55. I bid her goodbye. While I was about to leave, she asked me to wait. 

She said that she would ask the watchman for an extra 10 minutes so we could go on a short walk.

3. GIVE ME A SECOND.

She decided to go for a hike and I asked to tag along. It was a long hike to a place where we could see the perfect sunset.

On the way, we were discussing how it’s impossible to have personal space after you get married. She argued that it wasn’t true. Her idea was that most people get their space whenever they want it. 

After reaching there, we watched the sunset. We sat there for a while and played some music. Then she suddenly stood up and said, “Give me a second”. I sat there in silence. She walked two steps away from me, took a deep breath, and watched the sunset alone. She created her zone away from the music and me and stole those five minutes away just for herself. 

While she was having her moment, Hum Aapki Aankho Me was playing on her phone. I sat there and listened to it. So when most people remember this song for its amazing wordplay between Mohammad Rafi and Geeta Dutt, I remember it for this moment.

Not letting her go into the zone again

---

Art can be used to stop time. When you write something, you are recording that moment onto a piece of paper and creating a memory. The same process follows with photographs and paintings. You can always look back at the writings and pictures to re-live those memories.

But there is something special about attaching memories to songs. You remember where you were, what was the feeling, and the role of music at that moment.

So the next time, if you ever feel like preserving a memory just play a song, or maybe sing one. That memory will be there forever.

-Puneet