"Arre Yaar, kya sunte ho tum?"

Isn’t there a discipline in medicine called ‘Music Therapy’? I guess there is. Now trust me, this is no quixotic discipline. I can vouch that music does bring smiles on the visages of men. Now this is no abracadabra and I speak with full conviction. Every time I switch on my music system or take out my I-Pod, my friends holler, “Arre Yaar, kya sunte ho tum?”, but the smiles on their faces and glints in their eyes never escapes me. Their smiles may be derisive, but does it really matter? Isn’t any smile better than no smile at all?

So,I Heil thy power, ‘Music’. You spread happiness all round. You bring smiles on the faces of even those who are on the other side of the divide, i.e. who use you to improve their ‘Motor Skills’ on the dance floor rather than to stir their souls and soothe their wits. Don't get me wrong you dance lovers, am not complaining, merely stating a fact.

Though still some years away from being ‘Over the Hill’, my taste in music, you may say, is way-way ‘Over the Mountain’. While songs of KL Sehgal and Begum Akthar may be food for quiz-masters in their quiz shows, for me they define what music is all about; soothing and soul-stirring. So when I discovered a huge collection of Begum Akthar on Youtube, (so painstakingly compiled into a playlist by contributors Mahakavi and Shaukeentabiyat (God bless them)), needless to say, I was ecstatic. I was inspired to add a video of this Goddess of Indian Music on my blog.

So here it is, a video for you to savor. Getting into dreary details, it happens to be one of my all time favourite ghazal. While the Begum lends her voice to the ghazal, the great Faiz Ahmed Faiz pens the qalam.

One way or the other, you will smile, I know..I know...