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At just ten,
The song chose me,
Its love wrapped around my being.
In reverence,
I knelt before its melody.
The song—
It walked with me,
Lived by my side,
Pursued me, hunted me,
Bound me to its rhythm.
It became my guide.
A beam of light carving paths through darkness,
A fragment of cloud cooling my restless soul,
A jasmine vine entwining my existence,
A mighty tree offering shade in weary times.
Even when my voice wavered without tune,
The song whispered gently,
Resonating within my heart.
Seating itself lotus-like in its depths,
Flowing through my veins,
Transforming every atom,
Into a cadence of harmony.
Before I could understand the world,
The song lit a lamp deep within
Through my father's Radio Ceylon.
Those haunting strains of Purani Filmon Ki Sangeet
Found their way into my soul.
And when Saigal sang “Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya...”,
He set aflame a song
That still glows in the quiet corners of my heart.
Shamshad Begum, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Geeta Dutt, Rafi, Kishore, Bhupinder—
Each one explored my moods,
Comforted me in silence,
Inspired me in despair,
And held my hand through life’s winding roads.
The song, ever-present,
Became my breath, And I—
I surrendered,
Becoming a slave to its eternal melody.
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Image Copyright - Varala Anand |
