A Quiet Intimacy

I will go back to 1961. We did not have a radio at our place. I would go to our next-door neighbour’s house, particularly on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. It was the day of Binaca Geetmala. I loved all the songs. I knew more about filmi gaane than what was written in my books. Bharat felt vivid; I came to know the country through these songs. Let me say with a pinch of salt, Ameen Sayani was more popular than the singers, or the lyricists, or even the music directors.

Radio—one never knew what was coming. You don't know what you are going to be served. If you don't like the song, even then you will not switch off the radio. You might be thinking about your homework, and suddenly your favourite song arrives on the air. Homework has to wait.

There is nothing like music. It can give you company for hours. At such an impressionable age, many impressions do not leave an impression, some remain forever.

There was no Walkman. If one person listened, everyone listened. Who says music is a private affair? In the search for privacy, you cannot afford to miss the music.