Jhootha Hi Sahi

A R Rahman's new album , released last week without much fanfair. Jhootha Hi Sahi is from director Abbas Tyrewala startting John Abraham and Pakhi Tyrewala ( Abbas's wife debuting ).

This is by far ARR's best album this year. Raavanan was good but wasnt great.

My favourites in this album are

1. Call Me Dill
2. Do Nishaaniyan - Sonu Nigam is at his lilting best in this song. I love the way he pronounces every word clearly and with the right feeling required. Music is very light and lets Sonu elevate this song with his voice.
3. Moonlight - Vijay Yesudas is amazing in this voice. He took his time but slowly and surely is becoming a very good singer. His pronounciations are pukka too.
4. Cry Cry - I love this song because of Shreya. Moment she joins in from the 2nd mukhda , it just gets elevated to a different level.
5. Hello Hello - Karthik is very good in this and his voice suits the mood of the song.

Overall Rahman proves again why he is the boss.

Raghu Dixit Project

I have been in love with Raghu Dixit's music , particularly his very energetic singing voice , unique attire ( colorful lungi's and a gajra , which he uses actively during singing ). I have been soaking up his numbers especially the compositions by 18th century kannada peot Shishunaala shariffa.

So when I read about Raghu Dixit Project , performing live in London., I did not want to miss this opportunity to listen to them live at any cost. All the videos of them performing live that I had seen online were full of energy and songs were fantabulous.

On Sunday , 11th September 2010 , it was the 2nd day of Annual Mayor's Thames festival.So I land up at Southbank and lo behold , I see Raghu Dixit and his band doing sound check. I could not believe my luck that day. And then they started performing and took the assembled crowd to a different level. Raghu Dixit is a true showman in his own right. He made sure everyone assembled got involved in the performance. Before every song he gave in intro on what the song is all about. And what songs they were - Gudugudiya Sedi nodo , Lokada Kaalaji , Kodagana Koli Nungitta - yes believe it or not , here we were standing in front of the famous tower bridge of london , with majority of the crowd being europeans and Raghu is belting out one after another Kannada song , but we could not care less what language it was in. All that mattered was the music and the I am sure everyone assembled there understood exactly what the songs were all about.
After the concert was over , by which time the crowd had swelled to a considerable size , I waited to have a chat with Raghu and his band. It was the best part of the concert for me, to have been able to talk to Raghu and tell him how proud he is making us all feel . He calls his music Indian World Folk Rock , and it truely is mesmerising.

At the gig @ Jazz Cafe , we reached there nice and early. Raghu Dixit comes in and I go to say hi to him, and to my surprise he remembered me and spoke to me and came across as a genuinely nice person. I think it is this quality of his , which is also endearing to his fans , as I could see he was going around talking to all the people who had met him at the Thames festival gig.

Concert started with a solo performance by Raghu of Soruthihudu Maniya Maaligi. It was a captivating performance showcasing the sheer range and power of Raghu's voice. For the second song all his band members joined him one by one and I should mention here special praise for the lead guitarist Vijay. He seems almost like he doesnt know how talented he is , when performing. There is also Karthick Iyer on the voilin , extremely talented , holding his own amongst all the wester instruments around him. Concert was truly awesome and we left totally on a high that day , promising to watch this band perform whenever we get an opportunity.

Some of my favourite songs of Raghu , are listed below. Go by the CD of his first album - Antaragni , today , give all the songs a patient hear and drop a note to me if you like them.

Kalmanje

Thats my hometown , a tiny little hamlet in Udupi district.

It has always been a place to unwind for me during my growing up years. To start with there are no modern day aminities like Telephone , Television at my home. Newspapers are few and far between , cell phone signals are pretty weak to the point of being useless. So one is virtually cut off from the all the rabble tabble happening around the world. Invariably you get drawn inwards.

My visit this time was even more special because of the monsoon. Day 1 when we took a happless maruti van cab driver down the treacherous road towards my home , I fell in love with this place all over again. What with lush green surroundings , pollution less air , crisp morning sunshine to add to the beauty of the place. There is a stretch of the road , which everytime I pass over I get a strange exhilarating feeling time and again. I do not know the reason for this , but beauty of the surroundings is definitely one of them.Idyllic settings , far away from modernity , simple people adds to the sheer enjoyment I get everytime I am here.

Amongst all the happiness I was getting out of this place , there was also a sad note. That of declining families in the village primarily due to migration to cities. Lot of houses have been abandoned or left empty , as there is no one living in them. Relatives/families from my generation have all moved out to cities for work , so some of the houses are all left with people from my grandparents generation. After them even those will fall vacant. I do not know what is the solution for this , but it saddens me deeply that this hamlet will not look the same when my son grows up. I can only hope that somehow all of this survives and retains its beauty.

Least I can do ( will do ) is to visit Kalmanje once a year with family and try to keep the setting as it is , wherever and whenever possible.