Living on hope: Vasu Dixit hopes his song 'Mere Khuda' will help people through these tough times
BENGALURU : The Greek philosopher Plato had once said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” These words still hold true for many, including singer Vasu Dixit. He hopes that his latest song – Mere Khuda – released on May 14 will help people through these tough times.
The events that made the song a reality still make Dixit emotional. It was written by Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan in 2013 and gifted to him. “My wife Bindhumalini is a disciple of Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan saab, and I visited him sometimes. Once, I sang one of my songs to him. He blessed me `100 and as a return gift, he gave me his words for Mere Khuda and asked me to compose it. It was rare for him to ask someone to compose his writing,” says Dixit.
The next two years went by with no result. Although Dixit was emotional about the song, it was also a great responsibility. The Ustad passed away in 2016 and it was only much later that he was able to compose a tune for the song. The music simply “flew”, Dixit says.
In 2018, he recorded the song in his studio and shot it too. Unfortunately, the hard disc with the audio and video recordings crashed, leaving him with only bits and pieces of the material. And then they worked on it again.
Asked why he released the song only now, despite his emotional attachment to it, Dixit says, “This is a song I feel world needs right now. I hope, during these difficult times, the song touches someone on a deeper level, the way it did for me.”
He has never performed this song at any of his corporate shows, where he feels people will not ‘feel the song’. To capture that sense of innocence in the song, he brought in a part where children sing the lines after him.
Mane Concert
For Dixit, music is reason enough to celebrate. His virtual Mane concerts (home concerts) are a classic example of that. “Why do you need a festival or occasion for your family to get together? People are staying indoors due to the lockdown. Since music is what I can give people, I’ve decided to go ahead with my mane concerts idea, where families can get together and listen to me,” he says. It is not priced and people can offer him whatever they please.