Hi Dasun & all,
The reason why i am writing in response to this mail after 5 & a half
months of its original posting is following:
I had this misconception that I had understood ARR's music completely.
I had no expectation of finding anything new out of the songs that i
had already heard, although i was well aware of the fact that ARR's
songs always had something new to offer if you listened carefully.
One day I read this wonderful mail of Dasun where he had mentioned
about ARR's standard deviation and aesthetic judgment. This mail
opened my eyes completely & I realized the existence of something that
is very close to us but we can not feel it mainly because we keep
standing under the shadow of our own perspective which of course has
its own boundaries.
When Dasun mentioned Mozart & his brilliance and ARR's closeness
to this brilliance, I had to save that incredible mail in my PC
under the heading 'Greatest ever written about ARR'.
When he mentioned he would write about the excellence achieved by the
song 'Do Kadam', I started waiting for it more than anything.
Then the time came when he finally wrote it. Strangely I had no
courage left to read it reason being the fear of the shadow of my own
perspective. At that moment I decided I would hold myself from reading
his write-up until I would be free of my own perspective of the song.
I stopped listening to 'Do Kadam', even the whole album.
As i have mentioned a few times in my mails that I consider 'Meenaxi'
as a standout album of ARR in recent years, you can imagine the pain
I had to go through to not to listen to 'Meenaxi' all these days.
For months and months I kept on waiting for that perfect moment
when I would be all free, cool, composed and ready to listen to 'Do
Kadam' and this time span gave me partial freedom of all opinions
formed of 'Meenaxi' over all those days when I listened it like an
ordinary Rahman fan would do.
Dear friends,
On Saturday the 2nd of August, by 11 pm I had been listening to ARR's
songs for last 18 hours non-stop, all confused why I was doing it
considering my firm belief in not wasting ARR's music by listening
in terms of quantity and not quality.
Perhaps it had to happen to push myself to the moment when I had to
discover myself, ARR's divine music and mother nature itself.
I opened and read Dasun's Write-up, and listened to 'Do Kadam' and
kept on repeating both.
I have no idea up to what extent I have come close to what Dasun felt
but I have to keep exploring.
Only thing that I am certain about is the fact that I am a changed
person now, have discovered something I can not explain at all.
Perhaps most of ARR's work is gonna be new for me now.
I am glad I have a lot of treasure to explore, a long journey to
travel.
I thank Dasun for giving me something that is out of this world, it
can not be repayed. Your poem is great too.
I thank you all for letting me share something I could not have
controlled within myself.
Do kadam aur sahi.
Pravinder.
--- In [email protected], Dasun Abeysekera <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> As promised..here's my take on Do Kadam. Enjoy! :)
>
> Do Kadam A Sublime Journey and A Sorrow that Lingers
>
> "If a music artist wants to blossom into a full-fledged person, it's
not enough if he knows only classical music; nor is it enough if he is
well-versed only in raagas and techniques. Instead, he should be a
knowledgeable person interested in life and philosophy. In his
personal life there should be, at least in some corner of his heart, a
tinge of lingering sorrow."
>
> When I first read this profound quote by ARR, it sparked, deep
inside of me, something very sincere and beautiful; these words may
have been that little pinch the sleeping artist within me, who I had
forgotten due to the constant pursuit of survival instincts and was
consciously trying to restrain by offering traditional societal
expectations as excuses, needed to rub his eyes and wake up! I had a
natural interest in life and philosophy; it was as if these subjects
were written into my genes, and I was always grateful to my parents
and to my Buddhist upbringing for inculcating that sense of
understanding and intuitive wisdom so early on in my life which made
my life a little easier and more balanced during the typically
turbulent teen-ages, though it often seemed to outsiders a very
difficult and restrained one. It is this same intuitive sense of
balance and understanding, now I realize, that drew me to the
naturally symmetrical music of my life's early heroes - ARR and Yanni
- at the age of 13 and made me appreciate and grow with their
exquisite music. But, until the moment of reading this quote, I had
not made the connection between these natural interests of mine and
the awe-inspiring and divine profession of the true artist. What is
lacking within this dormant artist that keeps him from getting out of
his cozy bed? What is this tinge of lingering sorrow that ARR has in a
corner of his heart? What sorrow could lie in the heart of this man,
who, to me, embodies all that is beautiful, happy, and heavenly? Is it
this sorrow that I lack?
>
> Years passed as an uninterrupted supply of beautiful music and
incredible artistry from the maestro continued to subconsciously alter
my spiritual state of being for the better while I contently lived
with my latent artist trying to figure out what this sorrow is and how
and where is it that he is going to find it. Then, in early 2004, I
bought an album I had anxiously awaited for quite some time; it
brought together India's foremost painter M.F. Hussein in his
second directorial venture with India's foremost composer A.R.
Rahman! I knew I was going to get magic from this album well before
its release! The music was true to expectations, very colorfully
crafted, and quite deftly and intricately woven with ARR himself
attempting to reach the abstract heights of an M.F. Hussein painting
in the two instrumental pieces; however, one song stood out every time
I listened to the entire album. It was something very special and the
sounds and emotions spoke to my heart directly; yes, this song was
divine! Do Kadam gave me so many goose-bumps each time I listened to
it that I started to skip all the other songs (except, perhaps, for
Rang Hain) and play only that over and over again; that is a high
compliment given the quality of the entire album! I did not understand
the Hindi lyrics (by Rahat Indori) fully at first except for a phrase
here and there, though it was enough, I thought, to put together a
rough sketch of what the song was about. I was wrong! This song could
not be enjoyed in its fullest being by putting together its pieces in
a haphazard manner like I did. In fact, to this day, I find some
deeper meaning to the creativity in this song. As with any divinely
inspired song, the first few notes and sounds captured my attention:
it was synthetic, it was mystical, and it was vintage ARR! Enter the
classy Sonu Nigam
>
> Lyrics:
> Zindagi, haath mila; saath chal, saath me aa;
> Umr-bhar saath rahi
>
> Trans:
> Life, take this hand; come, come along with me;
> We will walk together forever
>
> And a gentle synth base guitar lick in the background picks up
volume lifting you up as if you were in a helicopter taking off from
earth.
>
> Lyrics:
> Do kadam aur, sahi, do kadam aur, sahi II
>
> Trans:
> two more steps, all right, two more steps II
>
>
and a happily persistent string section leads the protagonist,
(given the movie's context, an artist: a writer), in a casual two step
walk, guiding him down a sun lit path towards a golden land as the
music bathes you in brilliant bright light.
>
> Lyrics:
> Koi suraj ki dagar, koi sone ka nagar
> Chaand ke rath pe chale, jahan tehre yeh nazar
>
> Trans:
> Some sunlit path, some golden city
> Walk in the path of the moon, where, this gaze would freeze
>
> And the synth lead guitar applies a slight break along the way
followed by a wonderful panoramic scan of the scenes, which
beautifully sets up the next lines.
>
> Lyrics:
> Dhoop Daryaon mein hain, phir safar paon mein hain
> Dil ka awara diya, doosre gaon mein hain
> Aaon, chale hum wahin
> Do kadam aur, sahi IV
>
> Trans:
> There's sunlight in the rivers, there's journey in your legs
> This wandering heart's lamp is in a different village
> Come, let us go there
> Take two more steps, all right IV
>
> Just listen to the magic created by the tangent chord that is
touched just for `doosre gaon' before returning immediately to the
base. And the same persistent string section, almost turning around
toward his follower from time to time, gesturing with his hands to
make haste, never stops saying come on, two more steps! All right? Now
as they get closer to this mysteriously beautiful place, the grand
Timpani starts to roar from a distance and the majestic horns can be
heard trumpeting its glory. Leading up to the next narrative, the
walk's momentum picks up with a lively conga layering over the soft
cymbals.
>
> Lyrics:
> Khwaab dalte hain jahan, dil pighalte hain jahan
> Aaon chalte hain wahin, woh zameen door nahin
> Dosti hogi wahan, roshni hogi wahan
> Us ujaale ke liye, jal chuke laakhon diye
> Ek hum aur, sahi
> Do kadam aur, sahi IV
>
> Trans:
> Where dreams are fulfilled, where hearts melt
> Come, let us go there, that land is not too far
> Friendship will be there, light will be there
> to light this place, many lamps have been burnt
> We might as well be one of them
> Two more steps, all right IV
>
> After this narrative, the string section returns with the conga
drums, but the background synth sounds fade out almost to a nightly
silence, quite appropriately setting up the mood for the next verse.
>
> Lyrics:
> Kisiki awaaz hai? Sun. Yeh naya saaz hai, sun
> Koun rehta hain sada? chalke dekhen to zara
> Raah viraan, sahi, raath sumsaan, sahi
> Har ghadi saath rahe, kitne gham saath sahe
> Thor ghum aur, sahi
> Do kadam aur, sahi IV
>
> Trans:
> Who's voice is calling us? Listen. This is a new melody, listen
> Who goes on forever? Come, let's go see
> The path is lonely, agreed. The night is silent, agreed.
> We have been together all along, we have suffered so much
> Just a little more suffering, all right
> Two more steps, all right IV
>
> The silence of the first two lines is nicely contrasted with the
conga beat picking up the momentum again for the difficult final
stretch where `the path is lonely and the night is silent' providing
the additional impetus and enthusiasm needed to carry on the remainder
of the journey; but, the most beautiful moment of the song comes
during `kitne ghum saath sahe' when a high pitched synthetic harmonica
lingers almost clinging by a thread to the artist's soul, as he
reaches this worthy final destination; and now loud and clear, the
horns blow majestically, the timpani crash triumphantly, and a choir
of angels welcomes him to this mystical place of infinite grandeur,
sublime beauty, and immortality; and he knows that he has achieved
every artist's dream, and that all his struggles are well worth the
reward: he has created his own heaven in his mind!
>
> It took me, at the very least, a year to interpret all of this
mind-blowing creativity and truly come to grips with the deeper
meaning of the song; but after I had fully understood the lyrics and
listened to the lingering harmonica sound during `kitne ghum,' I knew
I found the answer to my question: what is this lingering sorrow which
ARR has in a corner of his heart that is essential to being a great
artist? To create such heavenly beauty, divine feelings, and immortal
masterpieces on earth, the true artist and the sincere creator has to
remain pure and warm at heart no matter how vicious and cold the rest
of the world may seem, he has to use in its fullest capacity his
imaginative powers, which he knows he is blessed with, but requires
him to let go of himself and find, and many-a-time, wait, for those
moments of divine inspiration, knowing, still, that after all that
mental and physical energy is spent, there is no guarantee that
somebody would have seen, read, or heard his creation and had been
able to enter his heart, mind, and soul and become one with him; for
that is his divine duty: to create a spiritually beautiful heaven on
earth so that even a single person, searching for a higher spiritual
state, or maybe, hoping for a way out of some meaningless existence,
or even just looking for a momentary escape from a hard day's pain,
will see, hear, feel, and begin to wonder, how is it possible? Where
is this possible? I certainly did; and to express my heartfelt
gratitude, for ARR's 40th birthday, I wrote him this poem.
>
> A Sorrow that Lingers
>
> I look through the window; it's another cold winter morning.
> The skies are so gloomy, and I see no flowers blooming.
> I pour myself a hot cup of coffee and turn on the TV,
> but I see nothing of hope I was hoping to see,
> and when I sip my coffee, it is as cold as what I see!
>
> So I get into a hot shower, ponder the day ahead as it draws near,
> but I snap out of it before the hot water runs clear.
> I jump into my driver's seat, crank up the engine,
> and while it warms up, I slip in my favorite CD.
>
> Tinkling drops of water, a saccharine female voice,
> little splashes of water, and then a Ghattam grooves with spice.
> I feel a cool shake on my shoulders, and a snappy tap on my fingers
> my heart is full of warmth and I am already in motion.
>
> Then a moment comes which words cannot describe:
> a man leaps in joy and I feel its vibe.
> I too cry my heart out for I long to feel that joy,
> it sends a thrill up through my spine, and I know very well why
>
> I see a 13-year old boy in shorts and shirt on a new day to start.
> He's got a spring in his step, and a cassette in his hand,
> no, he had a Rose in his hands, and it had bloomed in his heart.
> He puts it in play and says, 'dad, that's A.R.Rahman!'
>
> I wake up to the calling of a soothing voice, he says
> 'Zindagi haath mila, saath chal saath me aa, umra-bhar saath rahi he..
> Do kadam aur sahi, do kadam aur sahi,
> do kadam aur sahi, do kadam aur sahi'
>
> And I am in motion again as I hear them beckon,
> those crashing timpani and those majestic horns,
> to a golden land where there's friendship and light
> and to the peppy conga beat, I forget life's plights
> and take two more steps with renewed delight
>
> I never knew a sorrow that lingers
> could bring this much happiness
> until I heard the beauty of your wonder
> and felt the depth of your greatness
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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