Humnasheen - Shreya Ghosal's coming of age
I remember seeing a young, chubby and seemingly shy girl walk up the floors of Sa Re Ga Ma - a music reality show ,in 1995. The Judges for the event were the great composer duo Kalyanandji and Anandji , and this little girl dressed in a knee length green pinafore; after necessary introductions started singing one of the most classical, haunting and delectably beautiful and difficult compositions by the late Hridayanath mangeshkar, worded by poetical skills of Gulzar, sung by Lata Mangeshkar at the height of her musical prowess - 'Suniyo Ji Ek Araj..' for the film "Lekin"..... Not an easy song for a young voice. The High ranging notes needed to be sung with a mellifluity, precision and deep breath; and also importantly, without distorting the rustic lyrics conceived by Gulzar. The singing also needed to demonstrate pain, a tragic soul to it, almost like the lowing of a cow in throes of pain. Definitely, a heavy ask for any singer. But Shreya Ghosal, the girl in question was not daunted by the enormity of her performance or stage. Not only did she sing every note to perfection, but did so with effortless ease, making the song look so simple.. That day a new legend was born....
I don't have to chart her growth over the last decade and half for my readers. It has been phenomenal. The gift that she was born with, has been nurtured, protected and improved with each passing composition, along with her confident personality and physical beauty . Devdas , the epic from Sanjay Bhansali gave her the necessary break and she has not looked back since then..
As I took my customary walk to the Local library today, I started listening to her new album released in February 2014 titled "Hamnasheen" - a collection of eight ghazals composed by Deepak Pandit (arguably one of the best violinists in the country). I was transfixed...... Every song revealed a Shreya, whose mastery and control over her voice has reached new dimensions ; those rarified spaces where only a few can ever reach, let alone trod. Her voice in each song, held the notes tenuously in mid silence, undulating and twisting them into harmonies that scatter like pearls from an oyster, reflecting the beauty of the mood ,and slow grace of each Ghazal unfolding its myriad emotions. "Yeh aasman", the very first piece is pure artistry and then followed by "naam Likhar.." in pure strains of Raag Sindhu Bhairavi is enough to attest to the beauty and depth of Shreya's repertoire.
As I finished listening to all tracks in the album, I was left only with the reverberations of her voice in every sinew of my body. It was almost as if honey was flowing through it , sweetening everything along its way. Very few albums have given me such incredible pleasure. The gift in Shreya has reached its consummation in this work....
Listen to it, if you can.. Alone , or with your beloved, but definitely in Silence....
God bless......
I don't have to chart her growth over the last decade and half for my readers. It has been phenomenal. The gift that she was born with, has been nurtured, protected and improved with each passing composition, along with her confident personality and physical beauty . Devdas , the epic from Sanjay Bhansali gave her the necessary break and she has not looked back since then..
As I took my customary walk to the Local library today, I started listening to her new album released in February 2014 titled "Hamnasheen" - a collection of eight ghazals composed by Deepak Pandit (arguably one of the best violinists in the country). I was transfixed...... Every song revealed a Shreya, whose mastery and control over her voice has reached new dimensions ; those rarified spaces where only a few can ever reach, let alone trod. Her voice in each song, held the notes tenuously in mid silence, undulating and twisting them into harmonies that scatter like pearls from an oyster, reflecting the beauty of the mood ,and slow grace of each Ghazal unfolding its myriad emotions. "Yeh aasman", the very first piece is pure artistry and then followed by "naam Likhar.." in pure strains of Raag Sindhu Bhairavi is enough to attest to the beauty and depth of Shreya's repertoire.
As I finished listening to all tracks in the album, I was left only with the reverberations of her voice in every sinew of my body. It was almost as if honey was flowing through it , sweetening everything along its way. Very few albums have given me such incredible pleasure. The gift in Shreya has reached its consummation in this work....
Listen to it, if you can.. Alone , or with your beloved, but definitely in Silence....
God bless......
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