Journey Back and Forth!

Music is a widely spoken and written about subject for centuries and in almost everyone's likes and favourites (without the shadow of a doubt) the presence of music in their profiles would always be a given. But I am penning this to delve into such a phenomena in this article...rather, I would like to take a personal perspective (cliched I know, though some of them must have written on this too) and take you on an interesting journey on how I discovered music...

Funny how it all starts for all of us isnt it...we are always curious to know more from the time we are born arent we? From this infant stage, the initial curiosity moves up to inspiration and tells us to explore further and deeper and build our tastes for music. All of us look up to our parents or our siblings to see what they like and see if it matches our likes and dislikes...and this habit mostly begins when we are barely able to speak a complete sentence.

Born in Delhi, my journey began when I was in Kuwait for the first 8 years of my life and my dad would allow me to listen to the local radio which surprisingly had english songs played for the working ex-pat population at that time. By the grace of that, I tumbled upon my first rendezvous with english music...(I would not get into the genre for now). This was during the late 80s when the likes of Bon Jovi, Guns n Roses and other artists were dominating radio air-time and so did my dad who was a big fan of certain select artists (which I will name a little later). My dad was a big fan of quality music systems and was very specific about quality of the speakers...this was what got me into music first actually. My fascination with electronics and the lightings n displays was what caught my attention besides the regular cartoons on TV. It was quite a beginning...

My home has always been a treasure chest with a lot of musical goodies around (not about instruments)...the access to music was plenty...at least as a listener. The radio programs were good and the quality of music at home was also quite diverse! I would find everything between Pink Floyd to Dire Straits and from Black Sabbath to AC/DC...and guess where I would find them? All of the tapes in my father's old worn out air bag high up in the loft. That was one of the biggest discoveries of my life and I would always cherish that moment when I pulled that dust wrapped air bag forecully from the loft (all by myself) and dropping a few bags in the process and almost falling off the little bench I had placed to reach me to the top.

But what amuses me the most is that at times mom and dad would say listen to this, listen to that or say dont listen to loud music or dont listen to angry or aggressive music...but eventually it was all that my dad heard when he was in his yesteryears! So why not me...I thought! And thats where the whole episode of the rebel in me was born where I would listen to what all my dad had collected over the years...it actually dint have extreme music but the diversity was quite impressive! Allman Brothers, Elvis Presly, Jimi Hendrix, UFO, Ravi Shankar, L Subramaniam, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, World Fusion, Beethoven, Bach, Disco, Bee Gees, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Jazz artists and country music too. (Phew!)

The next task was obviously take each tape and run the entire album on my cassette player till my dad would sit beside me and help me sort out the best from the worst and give me a little history lesson about the artists and his younger days listening to them all. One of the few moments with him where we would have a hilarious conversation...where my mom would stay out for a change! It was then that I realized that there was so much music before I was born and I knew what I was liking...he even told me that he had seen the Woodstock Festival in a movie theatre in Madras when it was released in the 70s. That must have been such an era to be in...hippies and gypsies as a lifestyle and all that rebellious establishments with a lot of freedom in the air...protest this, protest that and what not! My mom was a big fan of old hindi music and the entire family (in her end) were a set of singers who could take stage and perform some classics from any era...no comments on my dad's side (chuckle). Thats when I decided to take a trip back to a time when I was not even born and when my kind of music was taking form...yes I am talking about 'my' discovery of Music.

This meant that I had to go back to say 20 years from when I was born and back to another 20 years after I was born...Im taking about a 40 year span (plus another 10 years in the new era of music today). This was an intimidating task and surely wasnt a short term task at all...but I figured out...if it took a lifetime, it would be worth each minute spent backwards and forwards. Well, to be honest, we werent the well off families...we were at the lower to mid middle class of the strata (if I had to use my judgment from today's learnings)...and this was by no means the right position where I could explore the music I wanted...it was expensive and it was tough to find...yes, I am talking about a pre-liberalization era of India where we were just being welcomed in the arms of the rest of the world...I would surely like to thank late Prime Minister Narasimha Rao (also known as the Chanakya) who brought in this phenomenon (please note - only for changing the country from a Socialist to a Market Driven economy)...enough of the politics now!

Wherever I had been in India post 1991, I had been surrounded by Bollywood music and this almost killed my hopes of exploring music (I like) in a place where it was hard to find music I liked. Thats when one day when on a trip with my friends I realized in a ride to one of Delhi's underground markets that there was a thriving business of english music audio and people who dealt with it dint know a word of English except for the numbers...thats when I realized, it was in the wrong hands completely...and it was these people who probably were suppressing the in-flow of english music and pushing the supply and demand of Bollywood music...sad but true! Until such time, the radio was my best music friend and on that day, I spent my first 125 rupees and bought a collection of Def Leppard's album titled 'Vault'. The next few spendings were on artists like Bryan Adams and Metallica (for a start). Such was the joy I couldnt have describe to anyone...it was a revelation and a wake up call to my conquest of searching my kind of music.

Till then I had been plagued with so many genres of music that it pained me that I couldnt find what I wanted. Even the radio stations were playing the best music at the worst time...late noon (when I would be in school) and late night (when I would be in bed). But in Delhi, I was away from my parents and lived with my grandparents...this helped me discover my taste for nocturnal interests and honestly I enjoyed every minute of it. Great music and what a fabulous RJ to top it all...5 - 6 stations playing 8 - 9 hours of amazing music - from orchestral scores to heavy metal and fusion instrumentals and what not! Thats when my departure from pop and anthems began...I was stepping into my world after a prolonged period of misguided trials and turbulent tribulations.

The absence (rather the beginning) of the Internet was also another challenge...it was the beginning of an era and it was damn expensive and rare to find too (Not many embraced this in the start but it soon caught up). Music artists had jus begun putting their websites with their profiles, discography with lyrics and images / pictures...and thats when I realized...that I was in an ocean! Let me explain...shelves on shops often do not display the entire catalogue of an artist...they place what sells the most and what is the fad and fashoin! Now that was when I realized I was in the music business trap...had to break free and escape! Thats when I began my real discovery...this time it was of any artist I chose, I would go to their history, understand their circumstances, their background, motivations, explore right from their first albums till the latest songs and doing all of this being in Chennai was the toughest of all things to do. It was during these times cashflow at home was a bit of a botheration...whatever savings I had gathered...was put in my discovery journey.

At one point of time, I suddenly got into this flurry habit of mercilessly purchasing Audio Cassettes off the shelf and growing my liking to records that were released few decades back (this too wasnt complete till I got every album in the catalogue!). It was an expensive affair and I would literally put an accounts statement to assess my pocket money collection and my spendings...obviously one side weighed heavier...but trust me, to be broke and still listen to your favourite songs is a feeling I cant describe...such pure bliss. Over a period of time, with regular surfing on the net, I discovered so many old and new bands that I almost lost count. What I also discovered was that they had been playing for the last 25 - 30 years! How could I miss it all...I thought to myself...thus began my passion for reading...e-reading at least! Whenever time and place permitted, I would dive deep into a band's history and read their entire story, reviews, run through a sample of their songs and get a feel of what it was to be in a band. What caught up was the child-like but amazing habit of air-guitaring, air-drumming and of course...head-banging.

At this point of time, my parents knew that this boy had reached the line and had crossed it quite some time back...and they had to let go. After many attempts on rules and regulations, plenty broken and bruised...they had to give up...another small triumph in a mammoth struggle. But what followed soon was my brother! At say 7 years younger...he was already seeing me as his teacher rather professor in inducting him into the ocean...and to be honest...I successfully did and shamelessly let me admit...he is now a rockstar...way ahead than my dreams and ambitions.

There have been times when my detailed budgeting experiences were seen as petty...that was when I got my first computer...it was infact a laptop...what followed suit was a flurry of exchanges and trades of music...the quantum and quality was unbelievable and in the shortest span of time in a 20 year journey...came true! So to speak, I seem to had covered the last 40 - 50 years of music that I missed and that I am living with...in the last 20 years of life. I so much look forward to whats in store...and I am glad to say that I havent missed the best yet! To be honest, the discovery is still on and to uncover lesser known bands and appreciate their music is in itself a tribute to the past that has helped shape the music of today. With the advent of MP3 and the growing power of the internet, the world now seems to be coming into one's fist. Such has been the ability to reach out to bands that do not even have a clue of their following in India (For e.g.).

Despite all the financial troubles and the ignorant surroundings and crowds, I had the pleasure of even attending the concerts of some legendary bands over the last few years on my own savings (even taking my brother along to one of them)...such was the feeling of being able to see what I dreamt of and accomplishing what I was struggling for my life. I think this is just the end of the beginning. Of all remaining efforts, one day I promise to go to the Music Festivals in Europe...and that might just be the foreseeable end to my journey...hopefully, that is not my final destination.

Music today at least to me is like any source of energy...like its the sun to the earth. And when I look back at the quantum and quality of energy I have derived so liberally, I owe my life to it. Music today is such a powerful means to convey so many things and bands of today have become more influential.

One day when my kids ask me about my music tastes and preferences to shape their own...I would tell them this story for sure (obviously that might put them to sleep) but would also encourage them to dig into the past to see what shaped the music of today...but guess what...I just did their homework.