The New Desi

“Jane kahan gaye woh din”? A question that appears in most of our minds with respect to the songs of the golden era. The youth today, however, will beg to differ- at least some of them. They are getting back to listening and appreciating old Hindi music. The acute sense of nostalgia seems to be hitting them harder than earlier. Favoritism for western or modern Hindi music seems to have taken a backseat, while ‘classics’ of the by gone era seems to be emerging as the new trend.

The current generation has become overtly conscious of what they are being exposed to and this kind of awareness is bringing them to question all aspects of their life. Gone are the days when one would lie down and listen to ‘Snoop Dog’ and ‘Linking Park’. They all want to get back to the old hits by ‘Mohammad Rafi’ or ‘Kishore da’ and other masters of the same era.

The radio as a medium is helping popularize old music and plays an essential role where young people are exposed to classics during the peak hours of their work time. What has also played a significant role in the popularization of music and especially the Hindi Genre of music will have to be the coming of the i-pod or the Mp3 players which is so flexible and personal in nature. The individual is at liberty to choose his/her music and update it everyday. (Be it an Himesh Reshamiya or a Yesu Das, Lata Mangeshkar or Jatin- Lalit)

‘Old Hindi music is what I use to relax myself after a tough days work, it’s my only solace’ says finance and marketing executive, Pratik.

‘Many young people have grown up listening to the classics of old Hindi cinema and it’s an acquired taste, probably because their parents listened to a lot of it. The reason why they are turning back to the same is because they have now begun to think about what they really like’ says graphic designer, Karishma.

‘I had to be a part of the ‘hip’ social group when I was in college, which is why I had to divert my music interest from classic of Hindi to the hip hop and rap kind of music’, says a young IT employee.

With the increasing debate on the genre preferences of the youth one can never conclude as to which has the upper hand. But we cannot overlook the growing fondness for our ‘age old’ Hindi music.

This probably explains why the city need for Hindi music singers is slowly increasing. Most private parties lately prefer ‘Old’ Hindi music or genres like the Gazal. Maybe it won’t be long before everyone tunes into Doordarshan every Sunday morning to catch the ‘Chitrahar’.