Sunday, March 22, 2009

SASURAL - GENDA PHOOL

I have been hearing this song DELHI 6 for quite some time. When I heard it first , I just did not understand it. I did not like the beats, the mix of hip hop and folk music with ghungroo beats thrown in between. I found it to be quite a "khichdi" ( this seems to be my favorite word nowadays, though I hate it when it is made at home). Anyways coming to the song, the lyrics too went over my head, and I did not even made out some words sung by rekha bhardawaj

But the more I heard this song, I really found it growing on to me. I was unconciously humming this song. I had still not understood the lyrics completely. I was completely flabbergasted as to why the lyrics were the way they were. And to top it all, I still had not seen the movie, so I was not even sure whether this song was a part of the narrative or not, whether it was necessary part of the movie

Finally I saw DELHI 6 last week and I finally saw the song, heard it and let me tell you for a long long time such a beautiful song has not been heard in hindi movies. The picturisation , the setting, the pace, everything just everything about this song is mindblowing.Its presence in the movie is as beautiful as mandatory since it acquaints Abhishek's character to the traditions and rituals practiced in India. If you are a lover of contemporary music there is no way you will not love this song.

Now the song is "GENDA PHOOL". I am so totally taken in by this song that it has been playing continuously on my laptop, my i pod , my phone. The lyrics which are so unusual got me thinking, why is the "sasural" (in laws place) is being compared to "genda phool"? Why not any other flower???? Here is what I think could be the possible explanation:

Genda phool (marigold in english) is a complex flower. Marigold is an inflorescence. Inflorescence as in every petal of this flower is a complete flower in itself and are arranged around a single stem. So even though every petal is complete in itself, they become whole , together to form a genda phool collectively into one flower. They will not be complete without each other. So it is complex in nature.

So is it with the "sasural", which is a complex place, with different relations like saas, nanad, devar being individual flower or petal of genda phool but collectively joined together at the stem to form a complete flower called "sasural" or genda phool. And each relation is not complete without each other. So the inlaws place is a complex place to stay in so to say the least.

Understanding it, I enjoy this song even more. I just love it. I love the lyrics (simple words like bush shirt, so commonly used in India), the laziness of the song, the nasal vocals of Rekha, the teasing which goes on (like oye hoye oye hoye). It's so simple yet so witty.

I'm going to play this song incessantly on my wedding sangeet. I'm going to dance to this song which would be a real nice break from those dumb five star wedding sangeets where we dance like robots on that "dance floor".



Barefoot, with bangles jingling in my hand dancing to the tune of this earthy song on my terrace, with my sister and friends teasing me....I can see myself doing this ohhhh wow!!!!!! Now all I wish is that my "saiyaanji" wear a bush shirt and chew a beeda paan so that is shaan is unbeatable in entire Kolkata. LOL!!!!!!!

P.S. anyone with a different take on this song is most welcome to post it in comments. would love to hear anything about this beautiful song.

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23 comments:

hitch writer said...

I guess this is a folk song, traditional hariyanvi folk song...

I still aint able to completely like it...

but than in music my sense is a bit delayed.. i take time to understand and like music... imagine i threw rangeela audio cassette first up when i heard the songs that they are useless... and a lot of them i like so much now.. !!!

so i aint the best guy to comment..

also i feel a lot of songs aftr watching the movie become so much more likeable for me...

n njoy dancing on this song in your wedding :)


lol

Rahul Viswanath said...

I second you ..... It grows on me !!

Anonymous said...

I love this song. It has a lot of UP in it more than Delhi.

I like your explanation about the comparison between genda phool and Sasural. To an extend I too wrote something similar on a discussion forum about the song. Though I joked that the comparison is that Sasural is 'feeka' like the flower. No smell or beauty. ;)

Femin Susan said...

Good song..... How awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I really enjoyed reading this post. Keep writing..

Renu said...

Now i am going to watch this movie tomorrow and then come back here:)

के सी said...

not from Haryanvi folk i think its from UP planes.. and POET nirala's favorite flower the genda phool @ nice post

Akansha Agrawal said...

Even when I heard this song for the first time... I was like WHAT??? and I promptly shuffled my ipod to the next song... but during my cousin di's wedding, the DJ kept on playing this song over and over... and then when I listened to it again... I quite liked it... I haven't seen the movie though!

Indian Home Maker said...

Hi Gunmeen Did you read my sticky note -(I also got it from Chirag :D) yesterday ? I had thanked you for reminding me to come and read that post ... Sometimes I start doing so many things together I end up all confused, and doing nothing .
But today I came here to say thanks for your touching and very inspiring comment. Give my regards to your parents. We have done the same thing, both my children get equal of whatever we have.
It's always a pleasure to meet nice, like minded people :) And we are all in our little ways changing this system... in fact id parents are fair they need not wait for any laws or acts!

Sagar said...

Hi GUNMEEN DI, sorry for being so late to your blog and especially for this post...if i would reach earlier then i bet that the comments would not go so wrong. i hope i will help you with a long post about this song.

First it's not a hariyanvi or UP folk...IT'S A CUT-2-CUT COPY OF A CHATTISGARHI FOLK SONG CREATED BY somone MR MATHUR during 1970s.

Secondly, the song was origionally recorded in composer's voice by an asistant director of Shyam Benegal in 1989 at Raipur. It quickly caught the lips of the all rustics of CHATISHGARH...as for so many years it was being nourished as a welcome song for the bride...when she comes her MAYKA for the first time from SASURAL.

The composer died years ago...if i am not wrong then 2004. None knows how did Prasoon Joshi got the song and gave it to A. R. Rahman to re create it. But at the time of the realease of Delhi 6 the all leading state news channels sucssfully made it a controversial topic. Yeah, it's true...

Two sisters of the Origoional composer kept fighting for the credit of his brothr through Channels but none from the Bollywood gave an ear to them. They sang the song at the studio hundreds of times, then gave the poofs and then cried too...but Mumbai was too far to be listened...well the team of movie was in USA for the premiere at that time...impossible for pooor to reach.

Now the GENDA FOOL factor, that is the only word changed by Prason Joshi in the origional song, and Rekha Bhardwaj's Nosey sound was enough to make it Hariyanvi...everywhere she sang Deve, Leve (saas gari deVE) originally there were DeTHE and leTHE ...THE IS THE SOUND WHICH WOULD MAKE IT CHATTISGARHI.

EVEN MUSIC WAS NOT CHANGED EXCEPT the FRICTION STARTS FROM SECOND STANZA...BUT IT WASN'T THE FAULT OF A. R. RAHMAN....AS THERE WAS NOTHING TO CHANGE BECAUSE SOMEONE HAD TOLD HIM THE FLOW.

THAT SOMEONE WAS SURELY PRASOON JOSHI, A BIG NAME TO BLEMISH. SO GENDA FOOL WAS NOT ADDED FOR THE COMPLEXITY OF RELATIONSHIP BUT JUST TO MAKE IT A BIT DIFFERENT. THE WHOILE CREDIT OF PARTIALTY GOES TO PRASOON JOSHI HERE...CLAPS. IF THE GUY WILL WORK ZILLION MORE TIMES THEN ALSO HE CAN'T BE THE FEET OF THE MASTER OF FOLK GULZAAR SAAB....BUT HE DOESN'T WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT.

AND FINALLY HIS FOOLISHNESS...HE FORGOT TO CHANGE A LINE IN THE SECOND STANZA "POORE RAIPUR SE ALAG HAI SAIYYAN JI KI CHAAL"
well well well...RAIPUR IS THE PLACE WHICH IS LABELED AS THE CAPITAL OF CHATTISHGARH. AND THE COMPOSER HAD WRITTEN IT BECAUSE HIS SISTER WAS MARRIED THERE.

HMMM...BUT EVEN THEN THE PEOPLE OF cHATTISHGARH ARE HAPPY BECAUSE A. R. RAHMAN MADE IT BETTER, THROUGH MUSIC, WHERE AS THE TWO WORDS "GENDA FOOL" MYSTIFIED THE MEANING OF SONG. I COULD, BUT PLEASE DON'T TELL ME TO TRANSLATE THIS SONG...BECAUSE IT IS MY LONGEST POST EVER, WELL NEVER MIND FOR THE ONLY BLOG I READ - DENIESTS IS AN AUTHOR TOO.

THX AND REAGARDS. SORRY FOR BEING A BIT HARSH...IF I WENT.

i am what i am said...

first of all so sorry for not replying to anybody's comments for so long.

i am what i am said...

@hitch writer: thak you. i sure will.

@rahul: yeah the song grows on to you doesnt it????


@solilo: i think what you mentioned is more appropriate. sasural is a feeks place no doubt about it!!!!

i am what i am said...

@femin susan: thank you so much!

@renu: yeah do watch the movie. its a nice watch.

@kishore: thanks

i am what i am said...

@akansha: yeah its a lovely song to play at the weddings. but do wathch the movie. the song's picturisation is really good.

@IHM: thank you so much. i will definitely tell my parents. they have beeb reading your posts since last night and they are loving it, let me tell you that. yeah and isnt it right all the children get an equal share of their parents property. if the parents say we love all our children equally then why this discrimination. it was a lovely post. provoked you to think so much.

i am what i am said...

@sagar: hrey thanks for the lovely comment and the beautiful explanation. i did not know there was this big a history to this song. and you dont have to say sorry for anything. keep writing i love to hear from you.

Jagjit said...

i love this song so much.

:)

-Jagjit.

i am what i am said...

@jagjit: me too yaar!!!!!!

Preeti said...

me tooo ...I loved it evreytime I listen to it ...its simply awesome ....

I explained a different meaning to one of my friends couple of weeks ago ...never mind I like this explainations better ..:-)

Dialect Of Heart said...

I know the song isn't instantly hummable but it grows on you the more you hear it. There was this phase when I heard that song repeatedly...I liked the hip hop beats integrated into the traditional lyrics and sound.

And hey, thanks for following my blog :)

Anonymous said...

Lovely song and I think you got the connection right between "genda" and "sasural"..

Amit Agarwal.

Di said...

Awesome blog....just saw delhi 6 yesterday 5/17....loved this folksy song...heard it first time and already like it. I was wondering why was "sasura" (father-in-law) genda fool!!! LOL
Now I know...it is sasural.

Unknown said...

beautiful song with awesome music

Smriti said...

This is my favorite song too! And love it for all the same reasons that you've listed :). My mom (Renu) pointed me to this post as I was looking for the reference of Genda phool in this song (something that made sense). I was quite satisfied to read this explanation :). Thanks for the analysis!

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