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A fun story of music bringing cultures together (India)


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We were on a bus in the Indian Himalayas. A group of high school kids walked to the back of the bus and asked us a few questions.

 

Then one said, "Sing us a song from your country!"

 

I sang "Happy birthday" as a joke. They all laughed, then one said, "No, really, everyone knows that. How about another song?"

 

"Ooooooooo oooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooohh...."

 

I sang this famous, beautiful, beautiful song from the classic movie "Sholay", a song that every single person in India probably knows. I began with the chorus. They were agape in astonishment that a foreigner would even know this song. But they all joined in, singing. Soon, the entire bus was singing this song at the top of their lungs, laughing, and smiling.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgkfoRWOnoc

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Sure thing. I was telling the story to someone else, and he thought I should share it with others.

 

It's a very special song as well. I've been listening to it in high school, but much more than that, it's a beloved song that just about anyone in India knows, sung by one of the greats, Kishore Kumar, in a movie starring Amitabh Bachchan, a revered actor.

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Considering that the movie is from 1975, the music has a really contemporary vibe. All it needs is a four-on-the-floor kick drum to make it work on today's dance floor :cool:

 

So...did you ever sing them a song from our country?

 

I'm glad the kids in the bus had the intellectual curiosity to want to check out music from other countries, we could use a little more of that in the U S and A :)

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Interesting, it has as V I vibe and bass line like the song "Rock Your Baby" by George McCrae, which would have been a hit a bit before then. Sounds Arabic, melody has a curious qawalli inflection on what is kind of like a Moroccan melody?

 

The western-hybridization in Bollywood music is interesting in how they'll "dress it up". Add half a measure, drop a beat, do oddball structures, have the guitar do a polyrhythm to the percussion, or add a quirky microtonal gliss on the melody. Always interesting when I have a native India/Pakistani student that is likewise between two cultures, tying it together.

Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com

Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/

 

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Considering that the movie is from 1975, the music has a really contemporary vibe. All it needs is a four-on-the-floor kick drum to make it work on today's dance floor :cool:

 

So...did you ever sing them a song from our country?

 

I'm glad the kids in the bus had the intellectual curiosity to want to check out music from other countries, we could use a little more of that in the U S and A :)

 

I never did sing a song from our country. I guess we all got derailed singing "Mehbooba Mehbooba". We just kept talking about other things for the rest of the trip! And that song does have lasting power. It's truly a classic. Kishore Kumar is still revered today, as is composer R.D. Burman.

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Interesting, it has as V I vibe and bass line like the song "Rock Your Baby" by George McCrae, which would have been a hit a bit before then. Sounds Arabic, melody has a curious qawalli inflection on what is kind of like a Moroccan melody?

 

The western-hybridization in Bollywood music is interesting in how they'll "dress it up". Add half a measure, drop a beat, do oddball structures, have the guitar do a polyrhythm to the percussion, or add a quirky microtonal gliss on the melody. Always interesting when I have a native India/Pakistani student that is likewise between two cultures, tying it together.

 

There is definitely that sort of cowboy-Western vibe throughout the movie, sometimes referred to as "Curry Western" or "Desi Western". And the musical hybridization is no mistake. They love having a mishmash of stuff, as is the case here with this song. R.D. Burman, master composer, continually incorporated rock, disco, jazz and Arabic influences into his soundtracks and songs. Some of the early Bollywood songs would incorporate sitar, surf guitar, electronics, and pop/classical singing...all in one song.

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Great story, Ken. You have such a rich history of travel.

 

It seems fitting that you sang "Mehbooba Mehbooba," showing that American music is hybridized to a degree as well. Certainly, Indian music was especially fused into the west during '60s and '70s, with obvious influences on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Mahavishnu Orchestra (not to mention Shakti).

 

Best,

 

Geoff

My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon

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Music is a universal language. Look at King Sunny Ade, with steel guitars and synthesizers, Zouk, Punta Rock, and so on.

 

Keep your eye on China. The Chinese music trade organization is forming a committee on future music technology. It will be interesting to see how 8,000 years of musical heritage influence the music of the future. The goal of Chinese music is very different from the goal of Western music, what with the pentatonic scale and virtually no emphasis on "the beat." It's about harmony and flow...we could use more of that right now.

 

The political situation is irrelevant. The MIDI Association is having a dialog with the new committee. There's now a Chinese member on the MIDI Association Board, along with Europeans and North Americans. It's time that music took advantage of its ability to bring people together. After all, it is the universal language.

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Great story, Ken. You have such a rich history of travel.

 

It seems fitting that you sang "Mehbooba Mehbooba," showing that American music is hybridized to a degree as well. Certainly, Indian music was especially fused into the west during '60s and '70s, with obvious influences on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Mahavishnu Orchestra (not to mention Shakti).

 

Best,

 

Geoff

 

Thanks! I am truly lucky to have traveled as much as I have.

 

"Mehbooba Mehbooba" is this weird hybrid of Western styles, including Greek, as well as Indian. A remarkable musical work sung masterfully by the effortless and charismatic Kishore Kumar. And yes, what goes around comes around. Bollywood dance numbers heavily influenced people like Madonna. Back and forth, back and forth.

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Music is a universal language. Look at King Sunny Ade, with steel guitars and synthesizers, Zouk, Punta Rock, and so on.

 

Keep your eye on China. The Chinese music trade organization is forming a committee on future music technology. It will be interesting to see how 8,000 years of musical heritage influence the music of the future. The goal of Chinese music is very different from the goal of Western music, what with the pentatonic scale and virtually no emphasis on "the beat." It's about harmony and flow...we could use more of that right now.

 

The political situation is irrelevant. The MIDI Association is having a dialog with the new committee. There's now a Chinese member on the MIDI Association Board, along with Europeans and North Americans. It's time that music took advantage of its ability to bring people together. After all, it is the universal language.

 

I look forward to seeing what they come up with and how they influence music!

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