A mysterious bond

Daler Mehndi is overwhelmed by Jo waada kiya woh nibhana padega
There are very few songs that touch you in a mysterious,unfathomable way and the one song which does that to me is Jo waada kiya woh nibhana padega from the movie Taj Mahal (1963). I first heard the song when I was six and though I was too little to relate to or understand it,I began crying. I don’t know whether it was the soulful voices of Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar or Roshan Lal’s melodious Hindustani composition or Sahir Ludhianvi’s poignant,rhythmic lyrics that pulled me towards the song. I guess it was a combination of all these factors.

What sets apart Jo waada kiya from other songs I like is the longing and apna-pan in it. It’s weird but I never listen to the complete song. Even today,I get too emotional when I listen to it and turn it off soon after it’s begun. The emotional connect I have with this song is inexplicable and no,it doesn’t have anything to do with any episode in my life.

Though the song overpowers my emotions,it has no control over my creativity. I am not inspired by it when I compose or sing my own numbers. If I were to do that,I would have been one of those mimicry artists who say they are ‘inspired’ by Rafi or Kishore Kumar. I compose my own music,write my own songs and sing them in my own voice. That is why Daler Mehndi is what he is today.u