If Kaifi Azmi says, Hai tere saath meri wafa,/Main nahin to kya (Hindustan Ki Kasam), we’ve got to take his word for it. And when the words from his pen come packed in two CDs from SaReGaMa, in one of their finest packaging projects, all one can mutter in return to Kaifi is: Tum jo mil gaye ho,/To yeh lagta hai,/Ke jahaan mil gaya (Hanste Zakhm)!

The priceless jahaan for Rs 599 is dirt cheap; coming as it does with such packaging.

And it’s not only Kaifi Azmi; simultaneously, SaReGaMa has also released Majrooh Sultanpuri in the same ‘From the Pen of’ series, with a promise that there is more to come: if Chand phir nikla (Paying Guest), some more moonlight will flow from the pens of other great lyricists, the finest in world poetry, like Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakeel Badayuni, Shailendra, Raja Mehndi Ali Khan...

Till that fantasy comes alive, to borrow Majrooh’s words, Hum bekhudi mein tum/Ko pukaare chale gaye (Kala Pani).

The whole double-CD pack is in the form of a large notepad, and the front and back covers apart, the insides are also ‘written’ all over in continuation of the same layout design, even the marking on the CDs — ‘CD1’ or ‘CD2’ — are in handscript. Not to speak of the listings of the songs, film titles and so on. And in the middle flap is an actual letterpad with the biographical details of the poet also ‘written’ out.

How you wish they could have managed the actual signatures of the two poets and put it somewhere, maybe near the photograph on the front cover. If there is a collector’s item, it is this, it is this...

Kaifi has 15+12 songs on the two CDs and Majrooh, 17+14. If Kaifi goes straight to the heart with Ya dil ki suno duniyawaalon (Anupama) and Chalte chalte yoon hi koi (Pakeezah), there’s Majrooh to kill you with sweet musicality in Rahen na rahen hum (Mamta) and Humen tum se pyaar kitna,/Yeh hum nahin jaante,/Magar jee nahin sakte,/Tumhaare bina... (Kudrat).

Really, so.

Anil Grover

Chhonde anandey Srobona Bhattacharya Bhavna Records; CD Rs 100

It is said that Rabindranath Tagore once declared that even though all his works of literature could be forgotten by Bengalis his songs would stand the test of time. Chhondey Anandey by Srobona Bhattacharya is the latest offering, an admixture of Puja and seasonal songs by Tagore. The Puja songs are rather traditional run-of-the-mill renditions and the voice is apparently a bit mellowed. But the seasonal songs are much more enjoyable. The choice of songs according to every season seems innovative. The seasonal songs are well executed, but one felt that this album needed a bit more of a professional touch.

Shubhobroto Ghosh

Modern times Bob Dylan Sony/BMG; CD Rs 399

I wanna be with you in paradise/And it seems so unfair/I can’t go to paradise no more/I killed a man back there

Dylanologists can only rejoice; his 32nd offering’s about as modern as the time tested growls, rockabilly grooves and scruffy, seductive poetry. Thunder on the mountain’s wicked take on Alicia Keys takes listeners Rollin’ and tumblin’ down the pleasantly unassuming Someday baby, Beyond the horizon and delicious The levee’s gonna break.

When the deal goes down, one is led into the dark alleys of Workingman’s blues. The incandescent Spirit on the Water, however, is the shrewd ballad that makes Dylan, easily the best thing this side of Robert Browning. Dylan’s dreadful, doomed signature this time takes the shape of Ain’t Talkin and surely should be counted among his top handful, while Nettie Moore’s one of the few things that will make one curl up inside and cry out in profound joy!

After a hard day’s work in these modern times, definitely a treasure to have by the bedside and be thankful that some people still just do it for the music!

Madhumita Das