काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ.......

A haunting song in Subha Mudgal's powerful voice that tears me up every single time I listen.It is from a brilliant movie "Raincoat" by "Chokher Bali" fame Rituparno Ghosh. The story is loosely based on O.Henry's "The Gift of the Magi". For all the movie-lovers out there, this movie is a must-see. It is impossible to not fall in love with this song when the movie opens. Besides the powerful voice and a simple arrangement, it succinctly weaves the whole story into these simple lyrics.


सुबह सुबह क्या ख्याल आज?
वापस गोकुल चल मथुरा राज
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
मनोहर बेश छोड़ नंदराज
सर से उतार्के सुन्दर ताज
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
राज धंध छोड़ भूमि पर वाज
और काहे बाँसुरी बजाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

कौन सा अनोखा गीत गाहे पी ककूल?
राजपाठ जैसे आज भाई धूल
कौन सा अनोखा गीत गाहे पी ककूल?
बिरहन लागी फिर हृदय फूल
राज-काज मन ना लगा
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

पुर-नारी सारी व्याकुल नयन
कुसुम सजा लगे कंटक शयन
पुर-नारी सारी व्याकुल नयन
रात भर माधव जगत बेचैन
काहे आधी रात सारथी बुलाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

धीरे धीरे पहुँचत जमुना के तीर
सुनसान पनघट, मृदुल समीर
धीरे धीरे पहुँचत जमुना के तीर
खन खन माधव बिरह मदीर
उसे काहे भूल न पाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

अपनी पिरिया अब पूरी घर-वाली
दूध नवन घिवू दिन भर खाली
बिरह के आँसू कब के पोंछ डाली
फिर काहे दर्द जगाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
Disclaimer: I haven't written anything in Hindi in a very long time. If there are any spell-errors, please do let me know.

I attempted to translate word-to-word, but felt that wouldn't even come close to justifying the song.Here is a summary:
It talks about Krishna leaving Mathura, where he is the King, to go back to Gokul, in order to meet his beloved, Radha. It describes the pangs of love that so suddenly encompass Krishna that he renounces his regalia and kingly duties and feels the need to head to Gokul in the middle of the night, while his people watch in dismay. Radha on the other hand is a house-wife now, engrossed in her daily chores. She has long wiped off the tears of separation.
Poet asks Krishna repeatedly : Oh lord of Mathura!Why do u wish to go to Gokul now?Why do you want to bring back those painful memories once again?.......

And here is my version of it(This song sees the light of the day after many software crashes. And having an extremely bad quality mic didn't help my cause either:-( Please bear with a very-far-from-perfect recording quality)

Song:Mathura Nagarpathi
Music: Debajyoti Mishra
Movie: Raincoat
Lyrics: Rituparno Ghosh
Original Singer: Subha Mudgal
Unplugged version : Kavitha Nagarajan
Disclaimer: I am not a native hindi-speaker. Please provide feedback on any diction issues.Thanks.


Mathura Nagarpathi..... | Upload Music

Simplicity Rules....

My first post is a tribute to one of the greatest musicians that we have had the privilege of sharing time and space with - The legend, M.S. Subbulakshmi amma.

"Simplicity" not only sums up the lyrical and melodic beauty of this song , but M.S amma herself. We are yet to see another artiste with such perfection and divinity.

Thanks amma, for giving us mulitude of songs to cherish and be elated in such divine Love.

We miss you......

Song: Kaatrinile Varum Geetham
Movie: Meera
Singer: M S Subbulakshmi


Kaatrinile Varum Geetham Upload Music

My Brushless Strokes on the web

I have always prioritized exotic vacations, running marathons , counting electrons and millions of other things over the one true passion of my life namely "Music". This audio blog is my humble attempt to bring music into focus in my life.

Audio blogging to me is one of the greatest modern day tools for self-expression. It is like how a canvass is to an artist. There is a certain nakedness to it that only gutsy souls can attempt to do.This is to all of you gutsy-souls out there....

இசையால் கூடி,
இசையாய் சிரித்து,
இசையில் களித்து,
இசையாய் அழக்கூட செய்யும்,
இந்த மின் இசை வித்தகர்களுக்கு , என் சமர்ப்பணம்......

I owe my inspiration to my audio blogging friends Meera and Mux.

I intend for this to be a self-improvement exercise besides keeping me accountable to my resolve and forcing me to regular practice. As I embark on this journey, please do provide me with your candid feedback.

That said, I am a novice blogger/audio-blogger , novice with a capital N :-) I don't know the first thing about audio mixing, editing, cutting, pasting or any such thing.I am hoping that my new found enthu will lead me to light in the near future. In the meanwhile, my posts are going to be less-than-polished - recorded with a cheap mic. Investment into heavy-duty equipment will be my incentive for keeping at it for at least a couple of months. There is hope....:-)