A Treasure House of Happy Memories

During an interview with the radio station AIR Twin Cities FM, Sanjo (popularly known as Sanjo The Balladeer) stated that the hallmark of his shows was that they made you think; they made you aware of situations and adversities surrounding the human condition; they made you see different (sometimes unfamiliar) facets of aspects like development, land acquisition, gender violence, etc. Underlining this point, Sanjo told the RJ: “My songs aren’t really the kind that you would get up and dance to.”

Well, there’s an exception… an upbeat, foot-tapping, grooving exception. It’s a song called ‘Yaadein’ from Sanjo’s second studio album (titled Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab) with Chandrani. The song has an edgy backbeat that gets your foot tapping. It makes you want to get up and dance. And many people actually do! On several occasions when Sanjo has performed this song, the area immediately in front of the stage has been spontaneously converted into a makeshift dance-floor by enthusiastic members of the audience.

Chandrani, who wrote the song, explains what it’s all about: “There is an oasis of joy and happiness within each of us. It’s made up of all our happy memories… it doesn’t matter if these joys are big or small. These memories can help us forget all the stress and problems that Life places in our path. The song is essentially an invitation to keep creating an everlasting chain of new memories.”

“It’s like we have this... well... Happiness Databank inside us”, adds Sanjo. “The song encourages us to keep adding newer memories to this Databank – every day of our lives.”

YAADEIN

Lyrics by: Chandrani

Reproduced here with permission from Chandrani

YAADEIN

CHHOTI CHHOTI YAADEIN

CHHOTEY CHHOTEY PAL KO KARTI HAIN SADIYAAN

YAADEIN

CHHOTI CHHOTI YAADEIN

LAMHO KO JODEY HAIN JAISE KI KARHIYAAN

YAADEIN

CHHOTI CHHOTI YAADEIN

SHAAM JO DHALNE KO THHI

NA DHALA AAJ BHI

RAAT JO JAANE KO THHI

DHOONDE KAHIN ROSHNI

YEH ZINDAGI

YAADON SE HI

HUI HAI KAHIN THEHRI

YAADEIN

CHHOTI CHHOTI YAADEIN

BEETEY LAMHEIN KAI

CHHUP GAYE HAI KAHIN

MUSKURAATI HANSI

KHILKHILAATI KHUSHI

PEECHHEY MURHTEY HI

MILTI HAI KAHIN

GUZRI HUI EK HANSEE

YAADEIN

CHHOTI CHHOTI YAADEIN

ROSHNI BANKE YEH

REH JAATI HAIN YAADEIN

ANDHERE JAB CHHAAYE

JUGNU YEH BAN JAAYE

AAJ KA YEH PAL

PHIR MILEGA KAL

BHAR DO ISMEIN KHUSHIYAAN TUM SABHI

YAADEIN

CHHOTI CHHOTI YAADEIN…

Listen to a short audio clip of the song here:

Yaadein by Sanjo & Chandrani

You can buy the song along with other songs, or the entire album here:

Buy Yaadein by Sanjo & Chandrani at OKListen

Note: To buy a song, register on the OK Listen website and click on the orange button next to the black “Play” button. To buy the album, scroll down to the point below the album image and click on the large orange button.

A Song for Mother Earth

Sanjo (popularly known as Sanjo The Balladeer) had just got off the stage after headlining an event commemorating One Billion Rising – a global protest against the ever increasing levels of violence against women. A reporter from a well-known mainline daily newspaper was waiting to interview him. The reporter’s first question (obviously intended to provoke Sanjo) was: “Why are you jumping on to the protest bandwagon?” Without batting an eyelid Sanjo replied: “Actually, I jumped on to the protest bandwagon thirty years ago and I still haven’t jumped off!”

In truth, it would be more accurate to say that it is the protest bandwagon that has been following Sanjo around. For decades, he has been using music, and in particular, ballads, to create awareness on burning social issues. His well-known shows like ‘The Songs of The Balladeer’, ‘Earth Eulogy’, ‘The Power of Protest Songs’, and ‘FolkTree’ all carry a strong social message.

It, therefore, comes as no surprise that Sanjo’s second studio album in collaboration with his trusted singer-songwriter-composer partner, Chandrani, is a thought-provoking collection of beautifully crafted songs – each focussed on a particular social issue. Every song in this album is written by Chandrani. The album also marks Chandrani’s emergence as a composer. Though she has composed only one song on this particular album, the new material that Sanjo and Chandrani have consistently been working on over the years includes several compositions by Chandrani – but more on that later.

In this article, we shall focus on the title track from the new album: Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab. Many fans rate it one of the most brilliant songs from Sanjo & Chandrani. It conveys, in no uncertain terms, that destroying the environment is a sure-fire way of finishing ourselves off.

The central premise of the song is that we, as humanity, are seamlessly and intimately interconnected with our ecological surroundings, in a mutually enriching symbiotic relationship. We are one, we are inseparable, and we are interdependent. Thus, when we destroy the environment, it is in reality ourselves that we are destroying.

The premise is encompassed in two searing lines of the emotionally charged chorus:

Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab

Sab Mein Hai Ham Hi

Invariably, when Sanjo performs this song live, the entire audience joins him in the chorus. The evocatively-crafted lyrics are a vital part of the power of this song. During his live shows, Sanjo usually has the lyrics projected on a large screen for the audience to read; and when the audience includes a large number of foreigners, he also projects a line-by-line translation on the screen.

HAM SE HI HAI YEH SAB

Lyrics by: Chandrani

Reproduced here with permission from Chandrani

ZARA ZARA AASMAN GUM HO RAHA HAI KAHIN

THORHI THORHI SIMAT RAHI HAI YEH ZAMEEN

SOCHO ZARA KHO JAAYE NA BEHTI NADI

HAM SE HI HAI YEH SAB

SAB MEIN HAI HAM HI

ANDHERA KAALA DHUAAN WOH CHHOONEY LAGA AASMA

KHONEY LAGA HAI TAARON KA SHAAMIYAANA

OH-HO-HO-HO…

ANDHERA KAALA DHUAAN WOH CHHOONEY LAGA AASMA

KHONEY LAGA HAI TAARON KA SHAAMIYAANA

KAR DO SUBAH KHONEY NA DO APNI ZAMIN

HAM SE HI HAI YEH SAB

SAB MEIN HAI HAM HI

THAAM LO YEH HAWA GUZAR JAANEY NA DO

BAANDH LO YEH MEHAK BIKHAR JAANEY NA DO

PARCHHAAYIYAAN BAN JAAYE NA BAAHAAREIN SABHI

HAM SE HI HAI YEH SAB

SAB MEIN HAI HAM HI…

Listen to a short audio clip of the song here:

Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab by Sanjo &Chandrani

You can buy the song along with other songs, or the entire album here:

Buy Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab by Sanjo &Chandrani at OK Listen

Note: To buy a song, register on the OK Listen website and click on the orange button next to the black “Play” button. To buy the album, scroll down to the point below the album image and click on the large orange button.

A Never Ending Musical Journey

It has now been more than a decade of creating music together. For Sanjo and Chandrani, the creative process is spontaneous, passionate and carefree. Except for their first round of compositions, they have not enmeshed themselves in a label’s contractual obligations. They write, compose and create whatever they want to – and that’s what listeners love about their music. It is meaningful, deep and evocative. This was, in fact, a recurring theme in the enthusiastic reviews that their first album, Barson Huey, met with.

This musical journey started in 2001 when Chandrani joined Sanjo for the first album (that is a story that has already been told in an earlier post on this blog). Prior to that, their musical paths were dramatically different. Sanjo is a self-taught musician. He learnt the tabla at the age of seven under the tutelage of the late Manik Das, an artiste from the rigorous Benares Gharana. Once the pressures of school, homework and exams set in, Sanjo left playing the tabla altogether – returning to music years later when he picked up the guitar at the age of sixteen.

In complete contrast, Chandrani is a trained Hindustani classical music vocalist. “My mother literally forced me into music at a very tender age against my wishes”, says Chandrani, “and I slowly started to understand and develop a love for this form of art; today I thank her every day for pushing me into music as a child.”

The contrasts don’t end with just their backgrounds – their approach to music as artistes is also markedly different. Sanjo prefers to take his music to a live audience, performing extensively in various cities across India. He likes to make a direct connection with the listeners; he wants to make eye contact with his audience during his shows. And for many of his own songs, he actually prefers the live version instead of the recorded version.

Chandrani, on the other hand, prefers the privacy and tranquillity of the music studio, its relative anonymity, and the silence that bounces off its heavily insulated walls. She believes that she sings best within the isolated confines of the recording room… just herself, her microphone and her songs.

And this is what we have grown accustomed to seeing over the years – Sanjo actively present on the live music circuit while Chandrani has been far away from the public gaze, writing and composing new material.

It is this new material – or to be more accurate, some of this new material – that forms their recently released second studio album titled Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab. This is a collection of songs on various social issues ranging from the preservation of the environment, drug addiction and women’s empowerment to the need to ease urban angst and the needs of children with disabilities.

To start with, four of the songs from the album have been released in India through the music portal OK Listen. Soon the songs will be available globally through iTunes, Amazon MP3 and several other mainstream digital music distribution platforms.

Right now the songs/album are available on OK Listen and you can buy them here:

Buy the Album/Songs on OK Listen

The four songs we mentioned are: Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab – the title track of the album, a song that postulates that since we are an integral part of the environment, wanton environmental destruction will merely serve to expedite our own end; Ham Chalein, a carefree, youthful anti-drug song brimming over with confidence and positivity; Yaadein, a “happy-happy” song which affirms that happiness is always within you, locked up in the happy memories of a joyous past; and Haathon Ki Lakeeron Ko, a song that takes the fear of failure head-on and asserts that with the right attitude, you can snatch success from the very jaws of failure.

Short audio clips of all the four songs are available here:

Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab

Ham Chalein

Yaadein

Haathon Ki Lakeeron Ko

This is powerful stuff – rousing lyrics by Chandrani, raising emotions that are exponentially amplified by inspiring, soul-stirring music from Sanjo. In Sanjo’s live concerts (as Sanjo The Balladeer), the songs have been received with immense admiration and appreciation. Songs like Yaadein and Haathon Ki Lakeeron Ko always attract repeat requests.

Last year, Sanjo was performing his iconic show titled Earth Eulogy, commemorating Earth Day. He closed the show with Ham Se Hi Hai Yeh Sab – with the entire audience joining him in the chorus and then rising to give him a standing ovation.

Footnote:

Sanjo & Chandrani's first album, Barson Huey, is also available through OK Listen; buy it online here:

Buy the songs of Barson Huey on OK Listen

"That's My Song!"

Whenever Sanjo (popularly known as Sanjo The Balladeer) performs the song Barson Huey onstage, there is at last one person who will come up to him after the show and say: “Hey! That’s my song!” Some time or the other in life, most people have faced the situation and grappled with the emotions depicted in Barson Huey – and that’s why so many people are able to relate to it.

The song is the title track of Sanjo & Chandrani’s debut album – and that happened by accident… kind of! In the early stages of the creative process when the songs were being written and the tunes were being composed, Sanjo was working with another writer. At that time, Chandrani was participating in the project as a singer. Four of the songs were written and composed when the project ran into a roadblock. The songwriter left the project.

Well, four songs do not an album make – so the project would, under normal circumstances, have to be abandoned. That’s when Chandrani stepped in as the songwriter – and the very first song she wrote was this evocative, soul-stirring ballad: Barson Huey.

Earlier, some other song had been selected by the label as the title track – but once the label guys heard Barson Huey, they immediately changed their minds. They saw the song as one that would have universal appeal – reaching out to people from all age groups and of both sexes. And that’s how Barson Huey became the title track.

Barson Huey is a bitter-sweet romantic ballad (but with a lilting reggae flavour); the song looks back with a deep sense of nostalgia and a tinge of sadness at a relationship that didn’t work out. It’s over – and yet hope lingers on…

Here are the breathtaking lyrics of the song, reproduced with permission from Chandrani:

BARSON HUEY

BARSON HUEY TUMSE MILEY

DIL KA YEH AALAM HAI KE

TUM JO YUN ACHAANAK MIL GAYE

MEHFIL MEIN KAR GAYE AKELE

PEECHHEY YUN MURHKE JO DEKHA THO

LEHERA GAYE SAAYE YAADON KE

LAMHE BEETEY AISE JAISE BEETI SADIYAAN

NA JAANE DIN YEH KAB KAISE BEETEY

AB THO KEH DO NA YAAR

KE TUM KO BHI THA PYAAR

SHAAYAD TABHI THO PHIR HUM TUM MILE

TUM NE BHI THO KABHI AANKHON MEIN

BHARE HONGEY SHAAYAD MERE SAPNE

KHOYI HOGI MERI YAADON MEIN

DHOONDA HOGA MUJH KO RAAHON MEIN

MUJH KO DIL HI DIL MEIN CHAAHA HOGA

PYAAR KYA TUMNE BHI MUJH SE KIYA HOGA

CHAAHA TUM CHAAHOGI MUJH KO

PAR KEH NA PAAYA KABHI TUM KO

AB THO KEH DO NA YAAR…

NA JAANE TUM KYUN KHO GAYI

LE KE MERI YAADEIN KAYI

MAIN NE APNE VAADE NIBHAAYE

YAADON MEIN BHI TUM NAHIN AAYE

PHIR KYUN AANKHON SE TERE CHHALKE

LAMHE WOH PYAARE, YAADEIN WOH KAL KE

DIL MERA AB BHI HAI BEKARAAR

AAJ BHI HAI TERA INTEZAAR

AB THO KEH DO NA YAAR…

  

You can listen to listen to a short audio clip of the song here:

Barson Huey by Sanjo & Chandrani

And if you would like to buy the song, there is a high-fidelity audio download available here:

Buy Barson Huey and other songs by Sanjo & Chandrani online

Barson Huey has extensively been reviewed on Mouthshut; you can read the reviews here:

Reviews of Barson Huey on Mouthshut

Think Positive, Be Happy!

The world around us with all its strife, chaos and struggles, inevitably gives us a negative outlook on life. There is a sense of resignation, reluctant acceptance and sadness. This mindset grows like a cancer within us... and the current state of the world doesn't make it any better. 

And yet, there is always hope; more importantly, the power to change the negative outlook into a positive one lies within us, in our ability to transform the way we think. There is a wise old saying that goes: "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

In their first album (titled Barson Huey), Sanjo & Chandrani light a candle with a song called ‘Sapno Ka Ek Shahar’. The song offers a positive way to get out of the vicious cycle of negative thinking. Chandrani believes that by looking beyond the sorrows and adversities of everyday life, one can find a place filled with happy dreams... hence the name of the song.

This was a song that Chandrani put her heart and soul into when writing the lyrics; she edited her work heavily, mercilessly; the song went through many drafts before emerging in its final form.

The lyrics reproduced with Chandrani’s permission are as follows:

  

SAPNO KA EK SHAHAR

SAPNO KA EK SHAHAR
AANKHON MEIN SAJA KAR
AANKHEIN YEH BANDH KAR LO
PHIR DEKHO DUNIYA KO

JAB BHI TUM CHAAHOGE
ANDHERE GUM HONGE
SURAJ KI CHAAHAT KARO
PHIR DEKHO DUNIYA KO
AANKHEIN YEH BANDH KAR LO...

BEETA HUA KAL
JO AB NAA RAHA
YAADON MEIN KHO JAANE DO
BEH JAAYENGE
JO BHI HAI SAARE GHUM
UN LAMHO KO JAANE DO

AANSOO YEH BEHNE DO
PALKON SE GIRNE DO
SAPNO SE AANKHEIN BHARO
PHIR DEKHO DUNIYA KO
AANKHEIN YEH BANDH KAR LO...

MIL JAATI HAI RAAHEIN
KAT JAATI HAI RAATEIN
DIL MEIN TUM AASHA BHARO
SACH KAR DO SAPNO KO

REKHAO KA HAI
YEH KISSA AGAR
SAPNA KOI IN MEIN LIKHO
AANKHON MEIN
IN KO SAJAAYE RAKHO
HAATHON MEIN KHONE NAA DO

MUSHKIL AAYE THO KYA
BAADAL CHHAAYE THO KYA
BAADAL SE AAGEY CHALO
PHIR DEKHO DUNIYA KO
AANKHEIN YEH BANDH KAR LO...

SAPNO KA EK SHAHAR...

The song evokes such a deep-seated sense of peace, that a fan in Hyderabad told Sanjo that she uses the song for her morning puja and meditation. In numerous reviews of the song on Mouthshut, listeners have talked about the tranquillity the song brings them. You can read these reviews here:

Reviews of Barson Huey on Mouthshut

You can also listen to a short audio clip of the song here:

Sapno Ka Ek Shahar by Sanjo & Chandrani

And if you’d like to buy it online (high-fidelity downloadable audio files), you can find it here:

Buy Sapno Ka Ek Shahar and other songs by Sanjo & Chandrani