Kailasa Chaandan Mein: Review
There has been so much utter garbage in the name of Hindi music coming out this year, that when I found out Kailasa (Kailash Kher, Naresh Kamath, Paresh Kamath) have come out with their fourth album, Kailasa Chaandan Mein, I was ecstatic! Songs from Aawargi, Kailasa and Kailasa Jhoomo Re still rank very high on my play list and so do Kailasa’s compositions from Dasvidanya and Pranali. Kailash’s soulful voice, absolutely gorgeous thought-provoking lyrics, music drenched in the ambiance of a village/folk setting…truly their previous albums really do transport you to a magical realm…pure heaven…it’s Kailasa…
While Kailasa came out with an album each year (Aawargi in 2005, Kailasa in 2006, and Kailasa Jhoomo Re in 2007), it is after two years that Kailasa has blessed audiences with another album—Kailasa Chaandan Mein. Granted that they had two years to put the album together, my expectations for the way the compositions would turn out were really high. Although Kailasa Chaandan Mein certainly does offer many beautiful songs to immerse yourself in, I have to confess that the album does not meet or surpass previous albums such as Kailasa and Jhoomo Re, mainly because most of the songs in Chaandan Mein have a melancholic feel to it which takes some time getting into. Nonetheless, the album is without a doubt definitely worth checking out; especially at a time like this when the rest of the songs out there make you want to instantaneously reach for your earplugs. lol.
Chaandan Mein (5.56) mainly relies on the guitar and drums, and of course Kailash Kher’s vocals. I don’t know though…I didn’t like the percussion arrangements that much. Anyway, I really thought this stanza was very sweet—
Chaandan mein main taakoon ri,
Teraa sohnaa mukhdaa,
Pyaaraa, pyaaraa mukhdaa.
Aanchal mein main rakhoon ri,
Chandaa kaa tukda,
Eh ji pyaaraa mukhdaa.
Tu dhare jaahaan paaon toh,
Muskaaye yeh dharti,
Saiyaan, saiyaan…
Na Batati Tu (Na Dhin Dhin Dhin Na) (5.17) is SO MUCH FUN…well mainly at the opening. The dha-dha-tirkit-dhin-chik-dhin with the sitar in the background is cool :-) However, even though this song has a really attention-grabbing beginning, 30 seconds into the song we have the guitar enter in a not so flattering way. I’m not too crazy about the lyrics to this song. But it definitely is a masti filled track.
Teri Yaad Mein (6.33) opens to a nice soft rock feel. The “yaad“ in “jaagoon main saari, saari raat, teri yaad mein” is a bit too stretched out, ending with an abrupt/rushed (not quite sure how to describe this exactly) pronunciation of “mein.” I love the steady pace of this composition. But, I’m really disappointed with the lyrics. Usually Kailash Kher pens down lyrics with so much depth…I can’t find that depth in lines like—
Jaagoon main saari saari raat,
Teri yaad mein.
Kisko sunaaoon fariyaad?
Teri yaad mein.
Jaanoon naa, tere sivaa,
Jaanoon naa, tere sivaa,
Koi baat.
Teri yaad mein.
Jaagoon main saari saari raat,
Teri yaad mein.
Kailash seems to like the word ”pran” a lot :-) He uses it in Saiyaan (Kailasa Jhoomo Re), in Chaandan Mein (“praan vaaroon”), and once again in Teri Yaad Mein (tadap tadap ke, bilakh bilakh ke kho doongi jab main praan”).
Bheeg Gaya Mera Mann (Cherrapunjee) (7.14) is the perfect song to add to my list of rains songs :-) Ignorant me had no idea what, who, or where Cherrapunjee is so I Googled it and Cherrapunjee is one of the wettest places with a lot of heavy rains. Chalo mystery of the song title solved! Hehe. I love the use of the bass guitar, tabla and flute in the song and the lyrics are AWESOME! Here are some memorable lines from the song–
Teekhi teekhi nukeeli si boondein,
Behkein behkein se baadal ooneendein,
Geet gaati hawaa mein,
Gungunaati ghataa mein,
Bheeg gayaa meraa mann.
Mastiyon ke ghoont pi,
Shaukheeyon mei tehr jaa,
Ishq ki galeeyon mei aa,
In palon mei tehr jaa.
Rab kaa hai yeh aayinaa,
Shaql haan iss ko dikhaa,
Zindagi gudhdaudh hai,
Do ghaddi le le mazaa.
Chamke chamke yeh jharno ke dhaare,
Tan mei mal mal si paddi hai phuhaare.
Peid hai manchale se,
Pattein hain chulbule se,
Bheeg gayaa meraa mann.
Banke naache behayaa, besharam, pagli hawaa (WOW!)
Barse barse re ambar ka paani,
Jis ko pi pi ke dharti deewaani.
Ishq Ho Gaya (5.41) starts off on a serious note from the very start. The Spanish guitar and tabla arrangements are captivating. Lovely composition but the lyrics are a bit too self-pitying, a la “haaye main mar gayi, lut gayi, barbaad ho gayi isshtyle.”
Kisse dil da darad sunaaoon?
Kisse apnaa haal bataaoon?
Gaye kitne badal zamaane,
Koi ishq ka marham naa jaane.
Mujhe ishq ho gayaa,
Mujhe ishq ho gayaa,
Mujhe ishq ho gayaa,
Mujhe ishq ho gayaa. (Abbey yaar kitni baar ishq ho gayaa hai?!)
Koi dardi dhoond le aao,
Ya koi vedh hakeem bulaao…
Yup, you get the gist of the song.
Piya Ghar Aavenge (5.42) somehow really reminds me of Suratiya from Sonu Nigam’s album Classically Mild. Anyway, Piya Ghar Aavenge is my FAVORITE song from Kailasa Chaandan Mein. It’s such a touching song. Sach mei. I also love the use of the piano, flute, and the beenaa (Or, maybe it’s a sitar. My untrained ears are not too sure). Just one small complaint, I wish the first few lines in the song were sung a cappella.
Chokh puraao,
Maati rangaao,
Aaj mere piyaa ghar aavenge.
Aaj mere piyaa ghar aavenge.
Sabr sunaao jo,
Khushi re bataaon jo,
Aaj mere piyaa ghar aavenge.
Aaj mere piyaa ghar aavenge.
Meri sakhi magal gaavo ri,
Dharti ambar saajaao re,
Utaregi aaj mere peeh ki sawaari.
Ari koi kajal laao ri,
Mohe kaalaa teekaa lagaao ri,
Unki chav se main dikhoon toh pyaari.
Lakhsmi jeevaaro,
Nazar utaaro,
Aaj mere piyaa ghar aavenge.
Aaj mere piyaa ghar aavenge.
Rango se rang mile
Naye naye dhang khile,
Khushi dwaar mere daale hai deraa,
Peeho peeho papeehaa ratte,
Kooh kooh koyal jape,
Aangan aangan hai pariyo ne gehra,
Anahata naad, bajaao ri sab mil,
Aaj mere piya ghar aavenge.
Aaj mere piya ghar aavenge.
What I really wonder though is why Kailash sings the song with such pathos in his voice even though the lyrics indicate a celebratory song that one’s loved one is finally returning home. I really wish I knew the raaz behind this.
Another masti filled song–Rang Rang Ma (4.00). I love the mischievous start to the song and the way Kailash repeats Rang Rang Ma again and again at the beginning. Reminds me of the start to Bhangra Paun from 1971. The sitar joins us again with the guitars and it’s a wickedly wonderful combination! Brings back memories of Joban Chalke (Kailasa Jhoomo Re) and Kaise Main Kahoon Ki Mujhe Ishq Huaa Hai (Kailasa). Man, this song absolutely rocks!!!
Kar Kar Main Haara (6.35) has AWESOME lyrics!
Yun toh teri yaad mei bhi swaad hai teraa,
Par aankhon ko manaaoon kis tarhaa?
Honton ki majaal kyaa jo kare yeh sawaal,
Par dil ko main samjhaaoon kis tarhaa?
Sat yaa asat hai yeh main kyaa jaanoon?
Sat yaa asat hai yeh main kyaa jaanoon?
Jaise saansein tere binaa hui gum.
I just wish they would get rid of the damn guitar in this song :-(
The album also comes with two bonus tracks from their previous albums: Albela Saajan and Tere Naina. But I’ll write about these two songs later on in my upcoming reviews of Kailasa and Kailasa Jhoomo Re :-)
Rang rang ma! Rang rang ma!
(This song is contagious!!!!) :-)
Tags: Kailasa, Kailasa Chaandan Mein, kailash kher, Music Review, Naresh Kamath, Paresh Kamath
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
i need to grab this one,let’s see how much contagious is “Rang rang ma! Rang rang ma!”
Yes, Kailash has this habit of singing celebratory songs with a pathos filled voice. His tenor and intone does not have the “Daler Mehndi” joie de vivre, so to say..needless to say, he excels in the real pathos songs…the phuhaar ones!
For me, Kishoreda and Rafi saab have been the only ones who still had that “thehraav” for singing celebratory and pathos songs distinctly, sometimes with the same lyrics..
Sample: zindagi toh bewafaa hai, ek din thukraegi from Muqaddar ka Sikandar
That said, Kailash’s classical work in his songs are superlative.
Naresh and Paresh have such varied music interests.They have a beautiful band called Hypnotribe.Completely different stuff when compared to Kailasa,the group.That’s called music.
gerat post, as always. lemme get a copy now!
Mai bhi dekhta hoon, yeh Kailasa is baar kaise perform kiya. Sure that its gonna be soulful. Phir bhi dekhenge…
Actually Im going for ‘Piya Ghar Aavenge’…coz you said its the best song and ‘It’s such a touching song. Sach mei’…lemme jus chk it out…
Nice detailed review Amanda…
nice to hear from u Amandaji, after many days….
nice review….well some songs need sometime to get on to u….but d ones which i liked after d first hearing are….chaandan mein, na batati tu,bheeg gaya mera mann and rang rang ma….
well its funny to noe dat u didnt noe abt Cherrapunji….used to be really famous few years back….whn it ws d wettest place on earth…..guess its been dethroned off its title nw….
@Krishna: Yes, please do let us know what you think of the song once you’ve heard it :-)
@Indraneel: But Kailash has also recorded songs like Bhangra Paun and Chak De Phatte and Dhoom Dhaddakkaa and his voice sounds really upbeat then. Even in his previous albums he has shown us the more playful side of his voice like in Jobhan Chalke and Yahaan Wahaan. Yup, Kishoreda and Rafi saab truly are legends! I think even Sonu Nigam is good at modulating his voice depending on the needs of the song.
@Sourav: “That’s called music.” Matlab Kailasa’s stuff isn’t called music? ;-) He he. Although, now I really REALLY want to hear Hypnotribe’s work.
@Magik: Thanks!
@Sridhar: Ya, check out Piya Ghar Aavenge and Rang Rang Ma first :-) Glad you liked the review!
n btw, this album is gonna be released internationally under the label Cumbancha records of New York….
So Kailash Kher finally goes global….
@Shoaib: Thanks! Nice to hear from you, too! Haan, mujhe sach mei nahin pataa thaa about Cherrapunjee. Chalo, I learn something new every day :-)
All songs have the Sufi touch to them and the feeling of free will which elevates love to some other level… Very earthy, simple, and the more you listen to them you feel mesmerized. I specially like “Chaandan Mei”…
should be getting the album soon…:-)
Good review, Amanda ji! Totally in love with this album.
“I just wish they would get rid of the damn guitar in this song”
Sorry but I couldn’t notice much of the guitar here. It is largely the sitar and the harmonium. Which part were you referring to?
Thanks, Rohan! Happy to hear you enjoy the album :-) 50 seconds into the Kar Kar Main Haara song the guitar comes in, which I felt was unnecessary in this particular composition. Kailasa is known for their trademark style of focusing more on the vocals and lyrics and the music/instruments are usually much softer. In my humble opinion, this particular composition, while lovely, could have been even more pleasant to listen to minus the guitar and with a different percussion arrangement. I’d really love to hear Kailasa come out with a total classical composition…
@Shravanti: “the more you listen to them you feel mesmerized” very true! after writing the review i’ve still been listening to the songs again and again and i’m enjoying them even more. the only exception is the Ishq Ho Gaya song–the more I listen to that song the more I hate it, lol.
@Tushar: good! kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab, lol.
Ohh, It’s hardly there. I like whatever of it there is though. The arrangements are typically Kailasa. Wonderful use of harmonium and the sitar is a pleasant addition, esply. in that serene little prelude.
Hi Amanda,
Thank you so much for the review.
I’m looking for the complete lyrics of ‘Chaandan Mein’,could you possibley post them here.
Thanks.
Hi Shashank,
Here are the lyrics to Chaandan Mein. Not sure how accurate my transcription is, though. lol.
Raahb haaroon,
Pagh pakhaaroon,
Tamhe nihaaroon ji,
Praan vaaroon,
Baiyaan daaroon,
Main naa haaroon ji.
Oh, eh ji maahre chatar su jaan,
Li jo pehchaan,
Kaahe barmaao ji,
Aavo ji, aavo ji, aavo ji -2x
Eh ji maahre chatar su jaan,
Li jo pechnaan,
Kaahe barmaao ji,
Aavo ji, aavo ji, aavo ji -2x
Chaandan mein,
Main takoon ri,
Teraa sohnaa mukhdaa,
Pyaraa, pyaaraa mukhdaa.
Aanchal mei, main rakhoon ri,
Chandaa kaa tukdaa,
Eh ji pyaaraa mukhdaa.
Tu dhare jahaan paoon toh,
Muskaaye yeh dharti.
Saiyaan, saiyaan.
Oh ji maahri binti sun lo aan,
Maahre bhagwaan,
Hume naa sataao ji.
Aavo ji, aavo ji, aavo ji -2x
Sarapat se soonaa, soonaa,
Kaisaa meethaa saa zeher,
Eh ji meethaa saa zeher.
Darad badde doonaa, doonaa,
Utthe hiyaa mei leher,
Utthe hirde mei leher.
Main karoon shingaar toh sharmaaye yeh darpan,
Saiyaan, saiyaan.
Oh ji oonche chaddke deoon azaan,
Naa bano anjaan,
Pardaa hataao ji.
Aavoji, aavo ji, aavo ji -4x
Raahb haaroon,
Pagh pakhaaroon,
Tamhe nihaaroon ji,
Praan varoon,
Baiyaan daaroon,
Main naa haaroon ji.
Oh…..
thanks! for lyrics
luv u………..
one striking mistake I would like to correct in the above lyrics is “Sarapa” (snake) “Dasey” (snakebite- verb form) instead of “Sarapat se.” There could be other mistakes too, I’m not too sure.
@serialno9: thanks for pointing that out!
Hii der…can ne1 plz post d lyrics of NA BATATI TU…i think d trikat is catchy :D..thnx
for me its ‘bheeg gaya mera mann’ all the freaking… OMG on a loop… i can write an entire 1000 word post on that one song. amazing lyrics and what a freaking mind-blowing composition. goosebump material. even a two-left-feet dork like me wants to shake a leg & towards the end of the song am always praying it sholdn’t end… but whatte befitting end… its ilke a rockstar got into each of them and they performed it sufi style… the flute has been used so effectively i dont remember last when… i guess it was lambi judaai (hero fillum wala)…
.
barse re ambar ka pani, jisko pee pee ke dharti deewani. coup de grace!
.
OMG good music does this to me… am so so so so so so so so overwhelmed….
.
thanks amanda!
@Magik: Arrey waah! Kailasa kaa jaadoo tum par chal hi gayaa :-)
Okay, so here is info about Piya Ghar Aavenge… Kailash wrote the song after his father passed away:
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/kailasha-scales-new-height_100212802.html
Hey amanda great work thanks for posting the lyrics
can any one tell me the meaning of the words
chatar sujan
hiyaa
hirde
azaan
pakharoon
Hey Nitesh,
Chatur Sujaan–clever/wise (i’m not entirely sure, though). i think there is a kirtan called chatur sujaan.
Hiyaa/Hirde: heart
Azaan: call to prayer for Muslims
Not sure what ‘pakhaaroon’ means…
Hey I quite like your review. I have sort of a different opinion on a few songs though. See the one i’ve written .
Peace
Hey Abhinav, Enjoyed reading your review, too. Thanks for sharing.
I can’t stop crying to ‘ishq ho gaya’. They are a blessed lot. Each time its better than the previous. They’re competing with themselves because with the rise losers like Pritam, Himesh, Malik stuff, they have no competition. I just pray to God that they never change their style of music. Its so Indian, so original, so virgin, so innovative and that demands sustaining. There is so few we have been left with to offer to the world from today’s India, this is certainly one of them. I am in love with Kailasa, madly in love.
That’s great you are able to appreciate Ishq Ho Gaya. Somehow, I still haven’t been able to get into that song.
these songs made me cry…even though these are simple they still sound so spcl…i sing kailash kher songs…ws in need of the lyrics…njoyd reading ur reviews…thanx a lot f the lyrics…
you’re welcome ji :-)
Hi Amanda, thanks so much for the review. It gives a true picture of Chaandan Mein. I love all the songs in this album but mostly Kar Kar main haara and Aaoji…… Can anyone give me the meaning or english translation of Aaoji…..please…..I would be grateful, thanks…
Thanks for the kind words, Kalyani.
I’m not sure if I would be the right person for translating Aaoji as Hindi isn’t my first language…
Hi Amanda, your review made me buy the CD and I am just too happy. You are true in saying Rang rang ma! Rang rang ma! is contagious. I am infected :D…
Sahi hai ji sahi hai :-) ‘Rang Rang Ma’ ke rang mei rang jaao, lol!
Hey Amanda… i think the reviews u gave for the song “Ishq Ho Gaya” are’nt good. i think the songs is so good that i can hear it endlessly….think about it.
Inder, that’s great you cherish the “Ishq Ho Gaya” song so much. I didn’t. So? What’s the big deal and what is there to “think about it?” There is no way my views on any given song are going to match the views of every single reader in the universe.
Hey Amanda… Great to see the reviews!! yes the reviews clearly shows the real picture of the songs!!!
I love “Bheeg Gaya Mera Mann” and “Piya Ghar Aavenge”…. As im infected with these two songs i didnt get a chance to listen to “Rang Rang Ma”, i guess now i need to give some time to dat too…
Thanks for ur reviews…!!!
Thanks for appreciating the reviews, Nandoo :-) And, yes, do give the other songs a listen, too.
very well written review, acc to me
acc to me, pag pakharoon is something to do with touching/washing feet. most of his stuff has a sufi base, so that essence of the devotee in love for God shines forth
in love *with* God
thanks, chintani.
i recently got a copy of the yaatra cd and the booklet translates it as “waiting for your feet to turn towards me.” although, i doubt it’s an exact translation though…