By Shabnam Panjwani,
CMO, Edelweiss Group
Music transcends time and communities with a diversity so astounding that a lifetime may pass while we only touch the tip of the proverbial iceberg. To DJs who haven’t moved past the tired playlists, I say, ‘Get a life!’ or better still ‘Free your mind and the rest will follow…be colour blind, don’t be so shallow’ (the hit single from En Vogue still resonates).
As the song states, varied musical styles and genres open one up to appreciate and accept diversity in all things around us. A habit of listening to diverse styles possibly builds higher tolerance. I daresay, if the same ears love to listen to Sufi and Raag Bhairavi, the hands that come with those ears would hesitate to throw stones at any community.
My musical journey has been largely influenced by what people close to me like. My earliest childhood recollections have been of Elvis, the Beatles and Tom Jones alongside Mukesh, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi. One learnt to mimic Elvis’ pelvic thrusts and just as quickly bent the ear to the soothing melancholia of Mukesh plaintively singing to his lov ’Jis galli mein tera ghar na ho balma’… a song that my Dad swore he sang while serenading my Mom whenever they had a lovers’ tiff..
While Elvis followed me around, disco became the new sound and dance, and Boney M, glittering Abba, Bee Gees, Donna Summer were the favourites. The world had changed, the Vietnam War was over along with Woodstock while shiny rotating balls, frenzied dance moves and high energy was the norm.
In college cassettes were recorded, guitars were brought out, booze was discovered and freedom felt. Rock was the norm and we all strummed imaginary air guitars and bent knees to Dire Straits’ ‘Telegraph Pole’ or‘Soldier of Fortune’. It was the beginning of my love affair with Eric Clapton and Billy Joel. This was also when I met my future husband and began to love the music he did…Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Cat Stevens, Bread, Van Morrisson, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan …all counter-culture artistes of the idealistic and cause-ridden 60s and 70s.
As I moved to mid-management at work, so did my music. I discovered the Blues – straddled between the meaningful and angst ridden ‘Rock’ and the soulful R&B sounds. I volunteered with the Toronto Blues Festival.
But times are-a-changing and when my daughter turned five, I began to enjoy the newer Hindi beats. No matter what the words, the repetitive thumps and complex strings bring a powerful tempo. A R Rehman brought to Indian homes and corner pubs, music that transcended every popular requirement. With him, a newer wave of western and Indian fusion created foot-tapping, hair flailing moves that have made the Indian wedding ‘sangeet’ a not-to-miss event.
As my daughter turned 10 and her tastes radically moved from Hindi music to the latest in American top hits, so did I begin to rediscover a genre I had summarily shunned in the late 90s and early 2000s. From Adele to Pharell Williams to the dark and brooding Hozier and soulful Sam Smith or Imagine Dragon’s ‘Demons’… there is just so much music to engage with.
How much more music can I absorb? Like the oft told tale of sugar poured into a glassful of milk making the milk sweeter, every piece of music that I have heard or hummed to has quietly added to my psyche… and I daresay my tolerance levels have zoomed. Music as they say heals the soul…
But I have to get back to work while Tunein plays on my laptop and I peer at my Excel sheets to figure the ROI on the last marketing project in Hubli!
Feedback: shabnam.panjwani@edelweissfin.com
