Music, a thing which captures the mood of the human mind and comes out as a tune which one hums. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, soulful music plucks the right strings in your heart and makes it resonate with the tune. As everyone has a unique taste, the choices of music also differ. Some souls are attached to rock music, where others choose country. Some of my fellow Indians can’t live without Bollywood music and films songs and EDM and trance music is key to some souls. However, My personal choice is Indian Classical music.

One when it resonates for the first

Like many foods and drinks, classical music is an acquired taste. One has to develop the likings towards it with a repeated exposure. I was getting that exposure at my home itself. Back then, it was an era of tape recorders. We had a nice one at our place. I remember, one day my granddad got a couple of cassettes. They had pictures of some old men in front of a microphone with closed eyes, wide open mouth and hands with some odd gestures on covers. Enthusiastically, I put one in and started to listen. The singer just droned elongated sounds for almost 15 minutes. I got bored by it and just left the room.

When I remember this incident today, I find it very funny. I wasn’t even aware that those covers were pictures of the legends. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Kumar Gandharva and Pandit Jasraj. I hadn’t even heard these names before that point. Grandpa kept listening to those cassettes and I kept moving out of that room for quite a few months. However, It all changed suddenly one day.

I put one cassette in the tape recorder and played. It was a misplaced cassette of Pandit Kumarji’s finest renditions in the cover of movie songs. I was about to turn it off and change when it happened. Something in his voice booming out of those speakers touched the chords deep inside. My hand stopped on buttons and I continued to listen. Since then, I have grown my likings towards Indian classical music. Now I am at the point where my first choice of music is something from the huge ocean of Indian Classical music archives available on the internet.

My favorites from Indian Classical

Voice of Kumarji still continues to fascinate me even after hundreds and hundreds of revisits to the same tracks. However, other maestros join in the stage of my personal conference with their renditions of amazing Bandishes, semi classical formats. It would be unfair to name one or two artists as my favorite. Vasantrao Deshpande, Bhimsen Ji, Vidushi Malini Rajurkar, Ustad Rashid Khan Kishori tai, Arti Ankalikar and the list goes on. Their voices always fascinate me. Recently, I have been listening to Pt. Vyankatesh Kumar, Rahul Deshpande, Anand Bhate and a young maestro Nagesh Adgaonkar. Classical instrumental artists like Anoushka Shankar, Shujat Khan, Saumik Dutta, Ustad Amjad Khan, have their special place in my heart. Sarod, Sitar and Violin make me happy. 

There are so many tracks which are dear to my heart. I am going to list a few tracks of vocal and instrumental music which are on top of my head right now for you all to enjoy. Hope they touch the chords of your heart and resonate with you too.

This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.