PHIR se aiyo badra bidesi, tere pankhon pe moti jadungi Bhar ke jaiyo hamari talaiya, main talaiya kinare milungi Tujhe mere kale kamli waale ki saun (Come again oh clouds from the other country, I will decorate your wings with pearls. And on your way fill my pond with water, I will meet you on the banks of the pond. Promise me you will come)
This wintry song written by Gulzar, composed by RD Burman and sung by Asha Bhosle will be the highlight of Indian classical and semi classical singer and composer Runki Goswami’s concert at her forthcoming concert in Delhi.
The Gurugram-based singer says, “Every year, I curate a concert for IHC. Titled after the song, Tujhe mere kale kamli waale ki saun, the concert is about Indian ragas and how they have been used in the Bollywood music. I will take the audience through the journey of ragas used in different Bollywood compositions.” She will sing 9-10 compositions during the two-hour concert, where Tabla player Virendra Singh, keyboard player Saif Ali Khan, Hemant Juyal on guitar and Yogesh Solanki on percussion will accompany her.
“Picturisation of Tujhe mere kale kamli waale ki saun sequence from the film Namkeen has been done on a cold and cloudy day. Watching this song play, one feels like wrapping up a shawl around. It’s primarily based on Malkosh Raga, but there is a mixture of others because it’s a Bollywood song,” says Goswami, who started performing at school and interschool shows when she was just six. There will be many more numbers around different moods and seasons depicted in Bollywood.
“There are romantic songs, nakhra songs, sad, and contemplative ones. I have chosen songs of C Ramchandra, Kanu Roy, Laxmikant Pyarelal, SD Burma, RD Burman, Anand Bakshi and Khayyam,” she adds. Some of the songs that she will perform include: Shola jo bhadke, dil mera dhadke, a fun song from the film Albela based on the entire Sargam; Phir kahin koi phool khila from Anubhav, Suno sajna papihe ne, a song based on spring from Aaye Din Bahaar Ke, Kuch toh log kahenge from Amar Prem, which is based on Raga Khamaj, and Dikhaye diye yun from Bazaar.
The 41-year-old, who works as a Marketing Head with an MNC, says, “My concerts are for people who understand music and not for the millennials, who just want to dance on the music. And my concerts are usually houseful.” These days she is busy with her international concerts slated to happen in Germany and Tokyo. “I am also working on my Raga Music Therapy App that will be launched in January. Indian ragas are helpful in treating asthama, stomach problems among other ailments.” she adds.
Singers you look up to :
Parveen Sultana and Asha Bhosle
When you are not singing….:
I am writing poetry and articles
All-time favourite ragas:
Kamaaj and Yaman
Plans to celebrate New Year…:
By paying obeisance at temple and
spending time with family
Where: Amaltas, Indian Habitat
Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
When: December 29; 7:00pm