Friday, 27 March 2015

"I Bought The Album For This One Song"


The creative process had just begun. Sanjo and Chandrani were working steadfastly on their first album – the target was to write and compose ten songs, with Chandrani doing the song-writing while Sanjo worked on the compositions. At the time both of them were working professionals with hectic schedules, and musical creativity and production had to crammed into weekends... Chandrani with her writing pad and pen, Sanjo with his acoustic guitar. 

Up to this point in time, Chandrani’s role was primarily that of a songwriter; she was also going to help Sanjo out by doing backing vocals on some of the songs at the production stage. All this changed when she wrote the lyrics for ‘Palkon Pe Tha’. The lyrics and the melody melded to create a song so evocative that it was decided that it simply had to be a part of the album as the only female solo song – and thus, the album (titled ‘Barson Huey’) attained a sense of gender balance (just kidding!)

Sanjo remembers several fans telling him that they bought the album only for this one song! Across fan-mail, online reviews and discussions on online forums, Palkon Pe Tha was singled out for admiration and critical acclaim. In particular, many listeners were moved by the depth and intensity of the lyrics – reproduced here with permission from Chandrani.


PALKON PE THA

PALKON PE THA
JAANE KAHAAN GAYAA
PALKON PE THA
JAANE KAHAAN GAYAA
SAPNA THA WOH YA
AANSOO KOI NAYA
SAPNA THA WOH YA
AANSOO KOI NAYA

AANKHON SE GIRA
GIRTE HI TOOTA
AANKHON SE GIRA
GIRTE HI TOOTA
SHEESHE KA KOI SAPNA HI THA
SHEESHE KA KOI SAPNA HI THA

AANKHON MEIN THA ABHI
SAPNO KA EK JAHAAN
LAMHA JAISE HI BEETA
KHOYA JAANE KAHAAN
BANDH AANKHON MEIN JO
THA KAL RAAT KO
SAPNA THA WOH MANCHALA

PALKEIN KHULI THO
GHUL SA GAYA
SHEESHE KA KOI
SAPNA HI THA

PALKON PE THA...

EK HANSI KO YAHAAN
ROK NA JO CHAAHA
AANSOO DEKAR KAHIN WOH
RAAHON MEIN KHO GAYA
HOTHON PE JO THI
HALKI SI HANSI
GUM HO GAYEE
JAANE KAHAAN
AB REH GAYEE HAI
GHUM KE NISHAAN
SHEESHE KA KOI
SAPNA HI THA

PALKON PE THA...



To revive memories of this moving song, here’s a short audio clip from the song:



If you'd like to buy the song/album online (high-fidelity downloadable audio files), you can find them here:

Buy Palkon Pe Tha and other songs by Sanjo & Chandrani


The album ‘Barson Huey’ was released as an audio cassette in 2005; popular demand led the label to release an audio CD edition in 2008. So why exactly are we discussing this in 2015? Well, Sanjo and Chandrani are in the process of releasing their second album online; as part of the deal, select songs from the first album will also be available for download – and Palkon Pe Tha is one of the songs.



You can catch up on the reviews for ‘Barson Huey’ here:

Reviews of Barson Huey on MouthShut


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