You, Me & Music!

February 28, 2023 Krupa Shah

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

In this newsletter, which I hope brings a little joy to your week, I am sharing some of my memories with music and people associated with those memories. Why? Simply because for the past two months, my playlist has been all over the place (more than it usually is) and I have been reminiscing far too much when I hear certain songs.

18. We had recently turned 18, which meant we now could legally drive. On one of those earlier precarious drives, I was sitting in the front passenger seat beside my friend and shuffling songs from my playlist while she drove. With every song that I played, she kept glancing at me with raised eyebrows. It was on that drive that she discovered my taste in music and realised how disarranged it was. (A decade later, both our playlists are similar yet widely different).

3! As per the legend my parents narrate, I must have been 3 or 4 years old, when I had the biggest crush on - Akshay Kumar (I know, please don’t comment further). My crush was intense to the extent that a toddler Krupa would blush every time Akshay Kumar was on screen and watch his music videos with wide-eyed awe.

2020. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, as was the norm, I also watched far too many movies with my family. Besides discovering my father’s fascination for South Indian movies, I discovered my father truly didn’t enjoy music videos. Papa would skip/ fast forward every single dance music video in the movies, even if it had a crucial plot point unravelling right in the middle.

Once. In all these years that I have been around my mother, I have rarely heard her hum any song. The rare times she does, I always pause and strain my ears to check if it truly is her voice.

March 2019. We did not have an active data pack throughout our trip across Sri Lanka, and neither did we have Spotify or YouTube premium. The result of which was that we listened to the same 5 songs from Gully Boy (the only songs which were downloaded and available on someone’s smartphone). We heard these songs on repeat throughout our road trip. To this date, every time I hear any song from that album I am transported back to the gorgeous tropical roads of Sri Lanka and I can vividly hear my girls singing beside me.

900 Million. Ever so often I go to the YouTube comments sections of this music video for much-needed laughter and sarcasm. The comments never disappoint. Also, it has 900 million views! (Whatever that means :P)

Four! I have now performed at four sangeet ceremonies for close friends and each performance was as entertaining as the previous one. My dance skills are average at best, but the sheer energy and chaos of planning and practising for these performances with my girls are what get me excited. Deewana Hai Dekho, Desi Girls, Girls Like To Swing, Morni Banke, Jhalaa Wallah, Jawani Jan-e-man, Dil Le Gayi, Tareefan, Sauda Khara, Hungama Ho Gaya and Kaanta Laga; The moment any of these songs play at a social gathering, you will see us running around, finding one another and breaking into whatever we can recall from the choreography!

5 Hours! Throughout a five-hour drive from Delhi to Agra along the Yamuna Expressway, due to the lack of a USB chord, we were forced to listen to our cab driver’s playlist. A playlist so drastically different to ours that we realised that music can also traumatise.

3 months. During the three months of 2017, when I went to the gym early in the morning, I would workout to the background music that was specifically curated by the Gym Trainer. The obnoxious amount of Punjabi songs I learnt by heart during those early hours still haunts me.

2014. I had a white-coloured Samsung smartphone and I hadn’t yet discovered the absolute joys of keeping your phone on silent - 24*7. And I had this song as my ringtone. I can no longer listen to it without being embarrassed!

May 2021! At a particular Baby Shower event, the host made us play a hilarious and mind-bending music game. He would sing the lyrics of a well-known song in the tune of another well-known song and the audience then had to guess both songs correctly and sing them aloud. I realised how musically challenged I was that evening. My friends and I couldn't guess a single song and ended up chaotically giggling throughout the game.

10 Lists! I now have a Monsoon Playlist, a Late-Night Drive Playlist, a Night-Walk Playlist, a Workout Playlist, and more… Yet, I am always shuffling and searching songs one after another - on drives, walks, and workouts!

15 Minutes. My crazy friend once called me and hummed the music of a song, whose name he couldn’t recall. We humoured each other on that phone call for 15 minutes and finally decoded the humming. Bless our ears!

Infinite. During the last three months attending a few too many weddings, I realised the embarrassingly huge number of item numbers I know by heart! Ugh!

Multi-lingual. On drives, we can now sing (rather lipsync) songs in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Spanish, Punjabi, Korean and occasionally in Japanese as well!

28! At 28, I could make a list of far too many songs and tell you exactly who introduced that song to me and when. Stumbled upon or lovingly introduced to, music always makes me want to sway.

That’s all. Just you, me and music!

So, feel free to share your playlists or memories or just about anything musical you’d love to. I am always looking forward to your replies to my newsletters.

As always a song recommendation. Jawani Jan-E-Man by Asha Bhosle. Last month, at my friend’s Sangeet ceremony, I had the time of my life performing alongside my jan-e-man’s on this song. What a performance that was, my girls quite sizzled on the dance floor! ;)

Before you go, enjoy some favourites from my gallery!

I recently conducted a week-long Workshop on Fabrics, Memories and Narratives, at KRVIA (Architecture College). And the students in my workshop compiled their narratives and photo essays into this beautiful book.