Soul Music - Part 2

Post-Lunch sessions are generally reserved for Kishore/Mukesh or sometimes Rafi. But that day felt lazier than usual, so I just put shuffle on and let it roll. A few unremarkable tracks later, it was still neither here nor there. Work was not getting done. Not surprisingly aye?. More importantly, I was nowhere near drooling. And then providence struck - "Paattu paadi urakkam njan, thamara poo paithale" - I am sure every mallu worth his salt has this song ingrained in his/her psyche somewhere. This is one song that holds a special place on my playlists. A Tharattu (lullaby) that my mom used to telling effect. A gem of a song that has been passed on down the family tree. Needless to say, it still retains its potency.
"Happy-place " here I come.

It was almost 3.30 and I was almost napping, just like the good old days...I felt like a little kid again. Rushing back from school to watch Malgudi days on DD - going "Taannanna thanna nna nna hoy" and then taking a short nap before going off to play again. And memories of DD brought back memories of "Mile sure mera thumhara", the unofficial anthem of India for over a decade before Rahman's Vande mataram replaced it.

Set to the tune of Chinna Chinna asai, the huge red sun slowly rising on the screen over a wet beautiful country, is the imagery that has always defined rehman for me. He went electronic when everyone was into harmoniums and huge orchestras. And when imitators followed, he embraced world music, reinvented himself again with hindustani and carnatic strains and did it many times over this past decade. Isn't he a genius, this little guy? Copying tunes? I frankly don't care.

Refreshed by that dash down memory lane, I went about creating a quick list of 5 or 6 of my favourite rehman hits on the ipod. Boy Was that tough - ennavale??? - nah...Vellai pookal - definitely...narumugaiye - maybe...Petta rap - WTF??...Malarodu - hmmm yeah I guess...Dil se - 50:50....Yeh jo des hai - Bingo!....des mere des mere - too much patriotism..O paalan haare - hmmm....Look in Tamil songs you fool...Mettupodu?? - yup, bring it on...dhim thannana - WOW!
pachchai nirame -yeah....new york nagaram??? - I give up...I am better off with shuffle....Especially after the pod has started growing a brain.

My Ipod has sort of become my soulmate (pitiful. I know it is) these days. When it is on shuffle, it kind of senses my mood and selects the song. I am sure Apple has gotten an advanced AI engine in there that can uncannily sense human emotions, I am not scared of that. But I am scared of that day in office when it is gonna play - Roobaroo when I am asleep and I am gonna loose my sense of time and place and start crying out loud - "AYE SALA"..:-)

And an internal timer jolts me, as it was well past my tea-time. I make a mental note - Be more disciplined and stick to your daily routine better. As I waited while the wending machine brewed me some "Tea", I was thinking about my non-existent plans for the night. Forced offline due to a non-existent net connection, my pathetic evening routine of ORKUT - Facebook - Rediff- google news - Gtalk has been eliminated. I make yet another note - fiddle with your Ipod, it might help you sleep better...And hope for another dreamy day tomorrow..

P.S - The concept of a playlist based on your mood is already doing the rounds people. check out http:\\www.musicovery.com. You can thank "Kit" for this piece of info. Keep dreaming.