Musicafe: Just...fall in love Various SaReGaMa; CD Rs 145

One of those compilation CDs, with 11 love songs, for no rhyme, reason or season. But the selection is rather good and brings monsoon-like relief in these seasons of monstrous item song VCDs (Rakhi Sawant and her tribe) and equally monstrous Himesh Reshammiya compilations (you really want more, ------?)

Not too long ago to make you feel too nostalgic; recent-past melodious hummers are reached back to. Beginning very pleasantly with Jab se tum ko dekha hai sanam (Damini) and ending charmingly with the just-the-other-day hit, Jiya dhadak dhadak jaaye (Kalyug). Among the nine encased in between are Ho gaya hai tujh ko to pyaar sajna (DDLJ), Zara zara (Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein), Jadu hai nasha hai (Jism) and Mann ki lagan (Paap).

Anil Grover

Chirantan Jaganmoy Mitra SaReGaMa; Rs 42

The Chirantan series brings to us the timeless songs by Jaganmoy Mitra. Bengali Adhunik songs that dates back to the 40s can give immense pleasure and this collection of 18 numbers composed between 1940 and 1955 are really worth listening. Kaji Nazrul Islam’s Shaono raate jodi is sung and composed by Jaganmoy Mitra is the first song. The lilt of his nasal voice creates a different sort of magic and brings back the old world charm of those gramophone days. There are a few songs both written and composed and sung by Mitra like Kon dur pranayir pathe (1944), Aar koto rohi bolo (1954) and Jodi mala aaji holo mlan (1954). This album also has one song composed by Himangshu Dutta ? Premer na hobe kshay; another few by Kamal Dasgupta ? Jani jani go mor shunya hriday, Sedin tomaye aami (1941) among others; and another one composed by Anupam Ghatak with lyric by Sailen Roy ? Ashru mukta kano (1955). In Jaganmoy Mitra’s voice they sound worthy of repeated listening. Surely an album for keeps.

Chirantan Nirmala Misra SaReGaMa; Rs 42

Yet another timeless album from the same series Chirantan by the sugar-voiced Nirmala Misra. Some of her best songs have been included in this album composed between 1960-1978. The album includes songs written by Pulak Bandopadhyay with music composed by Rotu Mukhopadhyay like Udash udash dupure (1966), Mone koro mone mone (1969), Aranyer gaan shunechho ki (1971). Another popular combo of writer-music director ? Pulak Bandopadhyay-Bhupen Hazarika gives us a couple of songs like Sobuj pahar dake (1963) and kul bhange jal taranga which also proves a point about Misra’s versatility. She is as spontaneous singing the soft, romantic and sad numbers as she is with the pacy tune of songs like Sobuj pahar dake. There are a couple of songs ? Khujechhi koto je tomae and Chalo aaj kichhu path chole jai by composer Sudhin Dasgupta, one by Nachiketa Ghosh’s ? Aami jakhon putul niye kheli ? that’s worth listening to among others.

Madhuparna Das