Rear Window: The Chalice & The Drinker

इश्क़ की चोट तो पडती है दिलों पे यक्सां
ज़र्फ़ के फ़र्क़ से आवाज़ बदल जाती है

It means that in love, the blow is similar to all hearts. But the sound changes depending on the vessel. Figuratively, it means that different people react differently depending on the constitution of their own self.

Not just in love, people react differently even to music. The same piece of music means different things to different people at different times.

I often hear people talking about the ‘common man’. I think that the idea of a ‘common’ man is a fantasy. I believe that every person perceives a song differently. He interprets a song with reference to his mental make-up, environment, emotional and intelligence quotient, and the chest of his experience, which presents a unique combination.

The very idea of finding a lowest common denominator to the understanding of a work of art is highly inartistic. This is one place where ambiguity can be a virtue. So how do I view this blog and the purpose of writing this in the first place? The answer is that we make a travel from possibility to probability. As I write my impressions of a song, I am sure that there will be echoes in your head too.

I throw a stone into still waters and there are ripples in your mind. That is what we do. And so, readers and listeners, let us raise the chalice… it might be the same drink inside, but we have different tongues and taste is not the virtue of the drink alone, but its chemistry with the tongue!

I share with you the song that first awakened me to the fact that composition was an art… and that there was something intoxicating about music… and that those who missed this intoxication missed a higher awareness!

GHULAM ALI – Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa by sweetsongs58

© Kaushal S. Inamdar, 2015