Buoyant Self

Music for my many moods

Give me your mood, and I’ll give you a song to relate to it!

Well, this might be a skill most of us have already. Me, I have a couple of songs for my most commonly predictable moods. As I mentioned on my homepage, hardly a day goes by in my life without listening to songs, either outside or inside. Yup! I am the person who has a song in the head most of the time, even during the toughest of exams I’ve written, I’d have my own background score. It just looks much better on screen in movies, but it has happened to me for real.

Being a lover of list-making, here goes some of my most trusted mood changers. A song or two for my every mood, ranging from Kishore da to Badshah!

• For the runs: Chak De India title song. I think it can motivate even the slow walkers to break into a run. A close contender is Patakha Guddi female version from Highway
• For the bhakt in me: O Paalanhare from Lagaan, Pal pal hai bhaari from Swades, Krishna Hare Shyam Hare from Bollywood Hollywood. Mythology/God/melody and some hidden truths of life are all embedded in these
• For when I need a good cry: I am already emotional enough to cry at the drop of a hat, without much trigger, but I do have my own go-to songs which help me produce them at an instant. I am so going to use them when I audition for that big gig which will make me famous. Nahin Saamne from Taal and Tujhse Naaraz Nahi (male) from Masoom.
• For when I need a good laugh: Has to be Kishore da! Pal Bhar ke liye from Johnny Mera Naam, Paanch Rupaiya Baarah aana from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. I dont know if my school friends remember, I’d render many fun songs of Kishore Kumar during breaks!
• For nostalgia: Nazar ke saamne from Aashiqui, Dil Deewana from Maine Pyar kiya. Reminds me of good old innocent days in childhood, when walking to a music shop and buying a cassette were big highs, followed only by incessantly pausing the tape to write down the lyrics, until they started printing lyrics in the long folded cassette covers. Fun fact: when we made our own mixed tapes by giving a list at the music shops, I used to make my own colourful cassette covers, naming each theme/mood collection. So funny when I see them now at my mom’s.
• For the first love: I mean, every crush counts as first love, doesn’t it? Pehla Nasha from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander and Pyaar Hua Chupke se from 1942: A Love Story. The latter is an album to cherish, every piece is pretty much a masterpiece.
• For life lessons: Yeh Safar from 1942: A Love Story, and a more recent one Tu Kuja from Highway. Tu Kuja is an astounding song by Sunidhi Chauhan. These are the songs I listen to in difficult times, to get through and move on, to ask for strength from the one above! Yeh Safar is a definite tear jerker too…!
• For some fun dancing: OMG this will be a long list, for those who know me know HOW MUCH I love dancing! Something that has stuck on for a few years is Aunty ji Auntyji from Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu and Gulaabo from Shaandaar. But I could easily list 20-30 of them, so I’ll spare you and not do it 😉
• For some classical dancing: This will be another humongous list and unfortunately I cant do justice to most of these, so they remain a sort of dream-dance list. Piya Baanwari from Khoobsurat (the old one), Raadha Kaise na Jale from Lagaan, Mohe Rang Do Laal from Bajirao Mastani, Kahe Chhed from Devdas, O Re Piya from Aaja Nachle and every song from the Telugu movie Sagara Sangamam. Like I said, this list may not stop.
• For some dirty dancing: I am huge on both Yo Yo Honey Singh and Badshah. I can recite the lyrics complete with rap, of many of their most famous songs. I listen to them when I run, and often I dance in my head. The beats are just irresistible. If I had to pick a few, they’d be Birthday Bash and Angrezi Beat by Yo Yo, Kar Gayi Chull , DJ wale babu by Badshah; but yes, I listen to almost all their recent numbers and like quite many of them! True story that.