The thought of Nagpur conjures myriad images of music, political science, food and fun delicately weaved together by threads of “Deshpande hospitality”. It’s hard to capture that last phrase in words. So friends, if you get their invite, lap it up and experience it for yourselves. For the uninitiated, here’s an attempt to capture some magic.
The Deshpande residence is always abuzz with the presence of distinguished personalities from various walks of life. Abuzz is perhaps the wrong word as being in the mix of things has been the norm right from Ajay's father’s days in Hyderabad. So playing host comes naturally to them. Such an ambience provides the perfect breeding ground for intellectually inspiring discussions. Thursday evening was no exception as their residence was graced by the likes of noted political scientist Prof. Ishtiaq Ahmed and celebrated playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar.
It was my privilege to be in such distinguished company. After the initial introductions we hit upon a common chord with Lata Mangeshkar. Ajay asked us to request Lata classics and he was going to play for us. Mahesh ji started with an all time favorite “Subha ka Intezaar kaun kare”. At this point I was very happy, more so for Arunabha (who was going to join us on Friday), as the evening was going to begin with a Jaidev song. But in a gentle twist of fate the conversation drifted and the song was usurped by “Phaili huii hai sapnon ki baahen”. Now it was time to just feel happy for myself.
CR was the next composer of honor. “tum kya jaano” and “kaali kaali ratiyaan” followed and we all agreed that these are among our favorite Lata songs. Mahesh ji mentioned that liking for these kind of songs separates the true Lata fan from the pretender. We can endlessly debate about this topic, and even gloat about our self-imposed cut off years beyond which we occasionally foray. While we are at it, I just wanted to bring forward a good point raised by Saae (this was during lunch on Saturday when Arunabha also echoed similar thoughts) about not diluting the pleasure of listening to music by an obsession for song stats. My view is that stats by itself won’t enhance listening pleasure but can be used in conjunction to appreciate the finer nuances of the song.
Prof. Ahmed said that that he conisidered “sitaron ki mehfil sajii tum na aaye” among all time best Lata songs and we talked a little about Naushad’s music before listening to the stunner. I pointed out that its hard for me to decide if it’s the best song of Udan Khatola and “hamare dil se na jaana” is a strong contender for the same. We all agreed that Naushad’s best work was before mid 50’s. Saee mentioned that she had a special liking for “mohe bhool gaye saanvariya” and we heard that next. We were feasting over a variety of snacks during this time, and my favorite tasted like Bakarwadi although it was shaped like a “ball”. The other favorite looked like Macaroni Cheese (but tasted differently) which we had with forks. Saee meanwhile was multitasking and making sure that all the guests are well fed. Discussion then moved to Naushad’s best tracks and I mentioned that we should not forget Amar. Ajay went out for a moment and announced “andar se ek farmaish aai hai”. The Deshpande household being full of Lata bhakts, its hard to guess who requested it. I have a hunch its Saee given that it’s another Naushad number from the same time frame: “jo main jaanti bisrat saiyyan”.
Lyrics of Rajinder Krishan was next on agenda. I mentioned that he is underrated and hasn’t been ranked along with the likes of Sahir, Shailendra and Majrooh. We agreed that his work with a variety of composers from CR, Husnlal Bhagatram, Shyam Sundar to Madan Mohan and Hemant Kumar is top notch, especially with the Lata solo. We parsed the lyrics of both versions of “ye zindagi usiki hai” with an exclamation mark on “phir kahaan yeh fursaten, phir kahaan ye raat din”. The use of sitar in the happy version and clarinet in the sad verison was also noted. Ajay pointed out that its hard to find songs of this great lyricist in the 70’s as his works became sparse after he won a huge lottery.
We then enjoyed Prof. Ahmed’s farmsih, “priitam meri duniya men do din to rahe hote”. Mahesh ji had to leave early. Once he left we realized that we never got around to “subah ka intezaar kaun kare” and promptly played it.
We soon changed gears and discussed about a wide range of political and social issues with Prof. Ahmed. It continued over a scrumptious dinner of Roti, Aalu Gobi Sabzi, Dahi Wada and Rasmalai. They were so filling that I had to skip Kichdi Coming back to music, Thursday evening was just an appetizer for what was to follow on Saturday evening. Arunabh’s arrival on Friday would set the tone for that. More on that later..
The Deshpande residence is always abuzz with the presence of distinguished personalities from various walks of life. Abuzz is perhaps the wrong word as being in the mix of things has been the norm right from Ajay's father’s days in Hyderabad. So playing host comes naturally to them. Such an ambience provides the perfect breeding ground for intellectually inspiring discussions. Thursday evening was no exception as their residence was graced by the likes of noted political scientist Prof. Ishtiaq Ahmed and celebrated playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar.
It was my privilege to be in such distinguished company. After the initial introductions we hit upon a common chord with Lata Mangeshkar. Ajay asked us to request Lata classics and he was going to play for us. Mahesh ji started with an all time favorite “Subha ka Intezaar kaun kare”. At this point I was very happy, more so for Arunabha (who was going to join us on Friday), as the evening was going to begin with a Jaidev song. But in a gentle twist of fate the conversation drifted and the song was usurped by “Phaili huii hai sapnon ki baahen”. Now it was time to just feel happy for myself.
CR was the next composer of honor. “tum kya jaano” and “kaali kaali ratiyaan” followed and we all agreed that these are among our favorite Lata songs. Mahesh ji mentioned that liking for these kind of songs separates the true Lata fan from the pretender. We can endlessly debate about this topic, and even gloat about our self-imposed cut off years beyond which we occasionally foray. While we are at it, I just wanted to bring forward a good point raised by Saae (this was during lunch on Saturday when Arunabha also echoed similar thoughts) about not diluting the pleasure of listening to music by an obsession for song stats. My view is that stats by itself won’t enhance listening pleasure but can be used in conjunction to appreciate the finer nuances of the song.
Prof. Ahmed said that that he conisidered “sitaron ki mehfil sajii tum na aaye” among all time best Lata songs and we talked a little about Naushad’s music before listening to the stunner. I pointed out that its hard for me to decide if it’s the best song of Udan Khatola and “hamare dil se na jaana” is a strong contender for the same. We all agreed that Naushad’s best work was before mid 50’s. Saee mentioned that she had a special liking for “mohe bhool gaye saanvariya” and we heard that next. We were feasting over a variety of snacks during this time, and my favorite tasted like Bakarwadi although it was shaped like a “ball”. The other favorite looked like Macaroni Cheese (but tasted differently) which we had with forks. Saee meanwhile was multitasking and making sure that all the guests are well fed. Discussion then moved to Naushad’s best tracks and I mentioned that we should not forget Amar. Ajay went out for a moment and announced “andar se ek farmaish aai hai”. The Deshpande household being full of Lata bhakts, its hard to guess who requested it. I have a hunch its Saee given that it’s another Naushad number from the same time frame: “jo main jaanti bisrat saiyyan”.
Lyrics of Rajinder Krishan was next on agenda. I mentioned that he is underrated and hasn’t been ranked along with the likes of Sahir, Shailendra and Majrooh. We agreed that his work with a variety of composers from CR, Husnlal Bhagatram, Shyam Sundar to Madan Mohan and Hemant Kumar is top notch, especially with the Lata solo. We parsed the lyrics of both versions of “ye zindagi usiki hai” with an exclamation mark on “phir kahaan yeh fursaten, phir kahaan ye raat din”. The use of sitar in the happy version and clarinet in the sad verison was also noted. Ajay pointed out that its hard to find songs of this great lyricist in the 70’s as his works became sparse after he won a huge lottery.
We then enjoyed Prof. Ahmed’s farmsih, “priitam meri duniya men do din to rahe hote”. Mahesh ji had to leave early. Once he left we realized that we never got around to “subah ka intezaar kaun kare” and promptly played it.
We soon changed gears and discussed about a wide range of political and social issues with Prof. Ahmed. It continued over a scrumptious dinner of Roti, Aalu Gobi Sabzi, Dahi Wada and Rasmalai. They were so filling that I had to skip Kichdi Coming back to music, Thursday evening was just an appetizer for what was to follow on Saturday evening. Arunabh’s arrival on Friday would set the tone for that. More on that later..
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