My Experiments with Bollywood Lullabies
(No kids were harmed in the making of this article or the experiments themselves!!)

This is inspired by something I do to get my son to sleep every night. A typical night begins with me taking my son from the arms of his dear mother amidst screams which if could be translated would probably a barrage of choiciest abuses. I still take him and turn off the lights and start singing softly some of the few bollywood ( yes..you heard it right...bollywood ) numbers for which I know the lyrics partially. And it is in such circumstances that I made some observations.

One does not have to be a purist or a connoisseur of music to be able to judge what is melodious soulful music and what is not.  Melody, by the way, is defined as ' A pleasing succession or arrangement of sounds '.  That is what every song is. So what makes it soulful. What is soulful ?


Lets take a very obvious example. Try singing a Govinda/David dhawan number to get your kid to sleep.

                            What is mobile number ? What is your style number ?

Now try singing a good old OP Nayyar number

                            Aaiye Mehraban...Baithiye jaanejann shokh se leejiyegi Ishq ki Imtihaan

Frankly you don't need to even know the lyrics...just hum the tune and the difference will be very obvious. Of course in this example it is rather stark. Let us try something which is a little less different and closer in terms of composition timelines...let us take the year 1999

                   Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (Ismail Darbar )-   Chaand Chipa Badal Mein...Sharmaake Meri   Jaana...Seene Se....

                   BaadShah ( Anu Malik ) - Baadshah O Baadshah...Baadshah O Baadshah

Lets us take the same year

                   Mast ( Sanjay Chautha ) - Aasman kehta hai rab se...tune chaand do kyon banaayee

                   Biwi No 1 ( Anu Malik ) - Any song

 If you have not listened to the song from mast, please do...it has very beautiful lyrics in simple hindi. No urdu. No complex metaphors..just simple ones. But just beautiful.

Let us take two songs from the same movie - Tere Mere Sapne ( 1999 - Viju Shah )

                  Tere Mere Sapne ( Title Song )

                  Kuch Mere Dil Ne kaha , Kuch Tere Dil ne Kaha

The second one beats the first one hollow in terms of soul. My point here is not that there should not exist different genre/styles of songs, or that melodious soulful music is only those which are considered 'soft numbers'......but the fact that there is a very simple manner in which you can differentiate the melodious ones from the rest. It is not the only way...but it is a great way and will work for folks with no music sense whatsoever.

To look at it from a hindu philosophical perspective....we are all supposed to be souls in a body and the souls themselves are closer to god. Babies are therefore much closer to god in they they have just acquired bodies and that probably is why this experiment seems to work...since if a baby finds peace in a certain kind of music...it is because it is touching the soul. To quote Fritjof Capra - ' The language is very limiting '. I really cannot explain it in detail..but if you have the opportunity to sing a lullaby to a small kid, try this experiment and you will know what I mean. Here are some more songs to compare and try to sing to your child.

                        Kaminey - Than Tan Dan

                        Kaminey - Title Song

                        Kaminey - Raat ke dhai Baje

You have to doff your hat off to Vishal Bharadwaj for his range and versatality. That said...do the lullaby experiment and you will almost be able to caliberate the songs in terms of its soulfullness. Please keep in mind though that this experiment works better when the kid is not totally dead tired and will sleep to anything. It is for those in between periods when he/she will refuse to sleep on their own and needs a catalyst. What was started as a catalyst by me landed up as my experiments with bollywood lullabies.

On a side note I am actually observing a pattern in terms of us as adults having the opportunity to use children to actually help us in making complex adult decisions. More on those experiments once I have some successful conclusions to draw from them.

Some more songs which I successfully use with my son

                       Chanda re ...Chanda Re  (Sapnay - Rehman )
                       E chand Teri chaandni Ki Kasam ( Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya  - Anu Malik)
                      Aao huzoor aao Sitaaron Mein Le chaloon ( Kismat - O P Nayyar )
                      Aa Dekhe Zara ( Lounge Version - Yes..there are subtle differences in this version which change the  feel of the song ..may not be suitable for beginners :)

Try it. It is a phenomenal feeling to perform this experiment successfully. It means you are assured of a good night's sleep :)