Sharmila and I listened to songs that are literally as old as my mom was. These songs are from the 1949 movie Barsaat. Another golden find from the treasures of Deval, Krupal and Rachana’s dad.

Sung by Mehdi Hassan
“Asad” is the pen-name of Mirza Ghalib. He addresses himself to say:

Injustices of love, “Asad”
Don’t scare me anymore
The heart that was once playful
Alas, is mine no more.

Has to be a first time for me in my life

Thanks to the largesse of Deval, Krupal and Rachana, the second half of the LP records have arrived from Chicago!! Even Sharmila is getting into listening to vinyl records (especially old Indian songs). Her dad used to have a record player when she was growing up…

Satyam Shivam Sundaram. The unforgettable tune of “Yashomati Maiya Se Bole”…

It is difficult to pick one particular song from this movie as my favorite but “Chalte Chalte” comes close. Both the lyrics and the tune are mesmerizing.

“Shab-e-intezaar aakhir
Kabhi hogi mukhtsar bhi
Yeh chiraag bujh rahe hain
Mere saath jalte jalte”

Roughly translated…

“In the end, this night of waiting
Will fade out eventually on me
Like this lamp is going to die out
Burning alongside of me”

Listening to my favorite singer’s voice in my now favorite media!
This was the first vinyl record I brought out from Deval’s dad’s collection to listen to. After some careful cleaning, the fidelity of sound came thru with brilliant quality!

The lady you see in the picture – also the elder of the two young kids – is my friend Deval. The gentleman in the picture is her dad Girish M. Swami. He spent his life in three different continents – Africa (Tanzania), Asia (India) and then North America (USA). If he were alive today, he would be 80. Unfortunately, he left the world at the age of 60.

Sitting with Deval this week over dinner, I got to know the life journey of her dad. And the values that he had instilled in his daughters. While he had no formal training in music, he listened to a lot of classical Indian music.

And I have to say – he had great taste in music. Or at least, it was remarkably aligned with mine. You know how I know that? Because, Deval and her sisters have gifted me the entire vinyl record collection of her dad!!

Just glancing thru the old LP records of Ghulam Ali, Farida Khannum, Saigal, Bade Ghulam Ali and the likes, I was simply mesmerized. This was like handing candy to a kid. I knew right then and there which would be the first record I will start with!

Thank you Deval, Krupal and Rachana for letting me be the caretaker of your dad’s passion! Wish I had met him once to discuss Indian classical music!!

Lata and Mukesh in Albert Hall, London. More than 47 years back in March 1974.
Takes me back to the early school days of listening to Hindi songs…